


Ghostwood

by tackyAstragalomancy



Series: Ghostwood [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Human, Blood, Cryptids, F/F, F/M, Horror, Humanstuck, Jealousy, M/M, Minor Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Minor Sollux Captor/Aradia Megido, Monsters, Murder, Pining, Play Fighting, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slurs, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, We Die Like Men, again REALLY slow burn, ill add more tags as I go, im only tagging main characters, like reaaaallly slow burn, suuuper slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tackyAstragalomancy/pseuds/tackyAstragalomancy
Summary: When a best friend goes missing in the quiet little mountain town of Ghostwood, it’s up to two dweebs to delve deep into the woods and uncover the secrets of what darkness lies beyond the forest.Ghostwood(or: The Author Rewatched Too Much X-Files and Twin Peaks and Made This Abomination)





	1. Best Friends

**Author's Note:**

> So its supposed to take place in the 80s-90s ish. I don’t have any exact dates a) because its easier to not have to and b) i actually have a good explanation why it doesn’t but its a spoiler :/
> 
> So yeah the technology and whatnot in this period is a little wonky/sloppy but basically it includes: computers, internet chatrooms (pesterchum/trollian), the internet in general, online multiplayer games, big ass phones, VHS, and so on
> 
> There will be a LOT of notes on the other chapters

Tuesday 7:33 p.m

 

Bombs rain down on the dilapidated shantytown. A young soldier ducks behind the ruin of a destroyed home, skaking and clutching his rifle to his chest. He peeks around the corner of the building. The coast is clear and the dust has settled; explosions are of course heard from a distance but as far as quiet goes, it is silent. His breath hangs ragged in the air.

Despite the silence, the young soldier has failed to notice an enemy trooper sneaking behind him. The young man is plunged in the spine with a dagger and is left to fall to his knees.

The camera pans out.

 

GAME OVER.

 

“God damn it Sollux, that’s the fourth fucking time! Stop targeting me, you petty bitch!” Karkat blares over the microphone.

“It’s not my fault you don’t know how to turn your head 180 degrees or so every once in a while,” Sollux lisps back over his headset.

“Humans can’t turn their fucking heads 180 degrees you moron. If we did that our heads would snap,” Karkat retorts.

“No, humans can’t turn their heads 360 degrees. I just did a 180 right now while looking for a fuck to give about your dead ass,” Sollux says and Karkat can almost hear the smirk in his voice, “And anyways it’s a video game of course you can do a fucking 180 I can’t believe we even argued about that.”

“Yeah whatever just shut up,” Karkat groaned.

“Uh-huh.”

Karkat found Sollux on one of the servers back when he was a freshman in highschool. Karkat would be on the game, Desert Warfare, constantly, isolating himself at school to the point where only a handful of people talked to him. It wasn’t like he was scared of the other people in his school; he just found every single person in that hellhole obnoxious. Which is how he met Sollux. 

The two had always ended up in the same games together, which happened to be rather detrimental, whether or not they were on the same team. On opposite teams they spent the game focused entirely on terminating the other player, even if it meant the goal of the mission failed. When they were on the same team, it was almost worst as they would spend the whole game bickering on every aspect of the mission, trying to prove who was and clearly wasn’t the team leader, and sometimes even committed occasional friendly fire if there was an exceptionally gruesome arguement.

And despite all of this, the two have regarded each other as best friends ever since.

Sollux was quiet over the mic for a while as he focused on destroying the rest of Karkat’s inexperienced team, one by one. He never took the fact that he was by far one of the best players out there for granted. In fact, he secretly enjoyed being able to carry his whole team.

“So uh, Sollux, are you gonna go to that party Terezi posted in the group chatroom?” Karkat asked into the mic, watching the screen as Sollux’s character went around murdering off players.

“When is it?” Despite being in the group chat he rarely payed attention to anything that was happening unless it directly addressed him.

“This Friday, around 6 at TZ’s apartment.”

“I dunno maybe ... I’ll see how I feel about it on Thursday.”

“Ughhhh! Stop being such a flakey bitch, you coward,” Karkat whined.

“Fuck you; I have a life.”

“A ‘life’ does not mean sitting at your computer and downing monster energy drinks,” Karkat snorted.

“That’s my fucking job though. I get paid to do that. However, you happen to do the same exact thing for free and end up being even more of a pathetic loser,” Sollux retorted.

“Are you going to the party or not asshole,” Karkat said dryly.

“Maybe.”

Karkat groaned.

 

ROUND ENDED


	2. Night Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An exchange. An uncovered VHS tape. A diner. And a hit and run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m naming a buncha things in this lil town. Hopefully it’s not too annoying? Let me know if it is? Also it’s winter but, no snow, not yet.
> 
> I reccomend listening to the Twin Peaks album while reading this chapter (or any of the next chapters) cause i sure listened to it while writing.
> 
> First time trying to write suspense.

Wednesday 8:12 p.m. 

WHO IS TOM CRUISE CHEATING ON?  
WHAT DOES MIMI ROGERS THINK?  
WHY IS CYNDI LAUPER WEARING THAT?

Karkat flipped through the trashy magazine, feet propped up on the counter of the video rental store, which had been suitably named The Video Store. He had worked here for almost four years now, being one out of the three people that worked there besides the manager, Jack. It was a pretty low-maintenence job, which is probably why he’d stuck around so long. Plus, he secretly adored movies, especially romantic comedies. He couldn’t get enough of it. So to be able to have a job where he just had to sit around and look at VHS tapes, in theory may have sounded boring, but to Karkat at least, it was a slice of heaven.

The bell on the front door jingled and Karkat looked up to see Terezi walking through, obnoxiously colored braces and all. She knocked her walking cane all the way to his counter and propped her arms up.

“What’s up loser?” Terezi grinned, showing off the freckles that covered her entire face.

“I’m working. What are you doing here, freeloader?” Karkat stared into her cat-eye sunglasses that had been tinted a deep red.

“You know why I’m here numbnuts, gimme the goods,” Terezi said, grabbing all sorts of brightly colored candy from the shelves. 

“Yeah yeah,” Karkat heaved himself to his feet and walked to the storage room behind the counter. He grabbed the new, still plastic wrapped copy of Die Hard and came out, placing it on the counter. 

“But you’re paying for all that candy okay, Jack noticed last time when you came in and grabbed some without me noticing. And bring this back next week, I swear to god if you pull some bullshit like you did with Lethal Weapon, your movie privelages are over.”

Terezi could barely contain herself and plucked up the case and began planting sloppy kisses on the cover, much to Karkat’s disgust. He rang her up and barely avoided having her grab him for a hug. The last time he’d hugged her he ended up with half his face covered in spit.

“Karkles you know about my party on Friday, right?” Terezi asked, over her pile of candy she was nonchalantly shoving into her purse, “You better be going or else I’m going to fire you.”

“First of all: don’t call me that and second, yeah I know, I might go,” Karkat shifted in his seat, “I’m just waiting to see if Sollux is gonna go.”

Terezi frowned, “Ugh why does it matter if he’s going. He’s such a downer sometimes I swear. He’s probably not even coming.”

“TZ that only happens sometimes; when he forgets his pills or whatever,” Karkat huffed, “He said he might go.”

“Jesus H. Christ, I swear, you act like you have some sort of crush on that guy sometimes!,” Terezi cackled, “Well don’t show up last minute like he does; let me know if you’re going so I know how much pizza to order fatty.”

“Okay from that comment alone I’ve changed my mind about going, thanks bye,” Karkat’s tone becoming high pitched.

“IT WAS A JOKE, I’m sorry, you’re so touchy sometimes, are you going or what?” Terezi leaned forward on the counter, zipping up her purse.

Karkat waited for a dramatic silence to pass before replying, “Yeah okay fine whatever.”

“Yay! Okay wear something not trash like you usually do and come early so you can help set up okay bye!” Terezi said quickly while grabbing one more bag of razzles and rushing out the door.

Karkat would normally shout out the door at her, yelling at her to come back and pay, but it was already pretty late and he didn’t feel like wasting his energy. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and placed the magazine on his face; drifting off to the sounds of Top Gun being played for the ninth time in a row on a bulky TV near the back of the store.

As he began falling asleep, Take my Breath Away happened to drown out the sound of the bell ringing again. As long as it wasn’t his manager he couldn’t care less. The person seemed to be looking around for quite a while and almost ten minutes went by while Karkat got some shut-eye.

Finally, whoever it was cleared his throat right in front of the counter and Karkat lifted the magazine on his face to see Sollux looking down at him from the other side of the counter.

“Morning princess,” Sollux said nonchalantly, his lisp butchering the second word into oblivion. He placed three movies on the counter.

“God why are you driving all the way out here at night, you creep,” Karkat grabbed the tapes and scanned them. Karkat couldn’t say he really knew what they were. One looked to be a horror movie, The House on Sorority Row and the other two simply didn’t have a cover or name on them.

“Huh that’s weird, do you even know what these two are?” Karkat held up the cases.

Sollux shifted on his feet, “They’re probably just bootlegs that’s all.”

“Of what,” Karkat probed.

“Uhh just some really gorey movies... from France I think,” Sollux looked anywhere but at Karkat.

“...Oh...kay... weirdo,” Karkat had an idea of what the two movies actually were but the thought flushed his whole face red as he rung up his friend and placed the movies in a plastic bag.

Sollux ended up sitting on the counter and talking with Karkat about the new arcade game that had been installed at the arcade down the street and what had happened on the latest episode of Dallas. They went on for nearly an hour talking about everything that passed through their minds. It was nice the kind of friendship they had let them just go on and on from one topic to another. It didn’t really matter what they yabbered on about; in the end, they just enjoyed each other’s company.

“Oh shit! What time is it?” Karkat suddenly sprang up from where he was lazily sitting in his chair.

Sollux looked down at his little digital watch that showed a tiny bee pointing to the time, “9:27.”

“Oh my god!,” Karkat ran to the front of the store and turned the Open sign around, “I was supposed to close like thirty minutes ago why didn’t you tell me!” 

“I’m not your manager,” Sollux snorted, “Speaking of which, who the hell’s in charge here?”

“Well when I work late shifts, Jack pretty much trusts me to handle the place on my own,” Karkat explained, “We don’t usually get wierdos coming by this late,” Karkat emphasized by poking Sollux in his ribs.

Sollux swatted Karkat’s hand away from him, “Well do you wanna get in this weirdo’s car and go get food.”

“As long as I get to choose where we go,” Karkat grabbed his jacket from his chair and the keys from behind the counter. 

Karkat shut off the TVs and lights and locked up the shop, while Sollux heated up his car. It was an ‘86 Honda Accord Aerodeck that Sollux liked to keep in perfect condition. Winter had already begun to chill out down Ghostwood Park at night and Karkat was thankful for the seat warmers in the car. Sollux pushed a mixtape he’d made last summer (it was from the roadtrip he and Aradia had taken down south to the desert) into the deck as he drove down the dimly lit street. The tape was filled with a lot of Talking Heads, DEVO, and even some Joy Division. The two had pretty similar tastes but Karkat had to admit he liked a lot more moody, angry songs. Karkat zoned out watching street lights pass through the car, wondering what instrument he’d play if he were in a band. Drums? That seemed more his style. Getting to hit things with sticks seemed easy and honestly pretty fun. He wondered why more people didn’t play the drums. What if there was a band just made of drummers. Wait, drumline.

“Where are we going, KK?” Sollux snapped Karkat out of his daze.

“Uh ...” Karkat looked for the first restaraunt in sight, “There.”

Sollux pulled into the parking lot for the Night Owl Diner. 

The two were seated in a red booth by the window. The place was nearly empty except for some truck drivers and a few old couples here and there. Karkat realized that Sollux had been talking and decided to tune in.

“-so when I got home she called me and said she’d left her new coat in my car, this real pretty maroon thing with all kinds of buttons and pockets on it-“ 

“What does the amount of pockets and buttons have to do with how good it looks?” Karkat interrupted.

“It just made it look nice alright it had these big wooden buttons and big ol’ pockets to stuff her tiny hands in and it was perfect,” Sollux rambled, “Anyways she says she left it in my car and she needs it back, and I tell her I’ll just give it back the next time we see each other and all of a sudden she starts freaking out and demanding I bring her coat back.” 

“Aradia was being ‘demanding’?” Karkat questioned.

“Yeah I know! She never freaks out; it was weird and she’s yelling at me to bring it back so of course I get in my car and drive it over to her house which is like a forty minute drive, which I literally just did when I was going home. So I get to her house and I ring the door bell and she doesn’t answer. I knock on the door and she doesn’t answer. I go back and forth between knocking and ringing for like five or ten minutes before I give up-“

“She must have been sleeping,” Karkat pondered.

“Yeah I figured that so I just folded up the coat and left it outside her door. I don’t know I just had a really shitty feeling in my stomach so that’s when I went to your store to hang out,” Sollux finished.

The waitress came by with their cups of coffee, took their order, and politely took the menus away.

“Do you think... has she ever told you she was thinking about breaking up with me?” Sollux asked. The way he said it so softly made Karkat want to hold onto him, but he pushed that thought out of his mind.

“Dude, you know she doesn’t talk to me. It’s like she thinks I’m some bad influence on you,” Karkat poured copius amounts of creamer into his mug.

“Pfft,” Sollux snorted, “As if. I’m way more of a bad influence than you are, KK.”

“Whatever rocks your socks buddy, the point is she avoids me like the plague,” Karkat looked into the dark drink, “Who does she even talk to?”

Sollux sighed, “Tav, Equius, Vriska I think... Oh she’s real close to FF,” Sollux trailed off, taking a sip of the bitter coffee, “What did I do wrong? Was I too pushy, you think? Or too clingy?”

“Jesus dude she hasn’t even broken up with you yet; I think you’re just overreacting. I’m sure she’s just dealing with something right now. Or there’s some miscommunication going on,” Karkat stirred his drink.

“Maybe you’re right,” Sollux said.

There was a long silence filled with quiet sipping before the waitress came back, placing a stack of pancakes and bacon in front of Karkat and a plate of french toast in front of Sollux.

Sollux cleared his throat, “Are you still dating TZ?” 

Karkat had already been stuffing his face with pancakes and had to wait and swallow before he answered, “We weren’t dating. It was more of just a ‘thing’.”

“What kind of ‘thing’?” Sollux asked, cutting up his toast into even squares.

“Don’t you want syrup on that?” Karkat stared at the plain french toast.

“Ew no gross what the fuck,” Sollux crinkled his pointy nose.

With that, Karkat grabbed the syrup on the table left by the waitress and, without breaking eyecontact, poured an overly generous amount of syrup onto his stack of pancakes.

“You are a disgusting little man,” Sollux made a gagging face at him.

Karkat then proceeded to shove more pancakes in his mouth.

“Okay but like I was saying, what’s up with you and TZ?” Sollux poked at his toast.

“Nothing’s ‘up’ with us,” Karkat said, wiping his mouth, “I guess we did super like each other in high school but we’re just friends man.”

The two finished the rest of their breakfast dinner in silence, listening to the jukebox in the corner. They gave a healthy tip to the waitress and went back to the car. Sollux drove fast on the empty streets; it was already 10 and most people were safe inside their cozy homes by now. The light from the lamps reflected hazily on the fog that had begun to creep onto the roads, which made Karkat feel as if he were in a dream. 

The road that lead up to Karkat’s house cut through the dense forest that intersected the little town, and the street lights became scarce until the two could only see from what the car’s headlights illuminated. Karkat struggled to keep his eyes open as he found himself lulling into sleep once again; feeling drowsy from all the pancakes he’d consumed. 

BABUMP

The car screeched to a halt. 

The two sat in silence. Slowly turning to look to each other, trying to decide if what they believed to have happened actually did in fact happen and wasnt some sort of terrible hallucination.

“Did you see that?” Sollux asked, hands shaking on the wheel.

“Did you run something over?”

“I- I don’t know! What do we do?” Sollux’s voice was shaking.

“Well go check and make sure it wasn’t a person for chrissakes!” Karkat yelled, but his face looked utterly terrified.

Sollux nodded hurriedly and climbed out the door. Karkat hesitated for a moment before choosing to follow him outside. 

But there was nothing on the road. No sign of an animal being hit besides- wait. Karkat walked forward on the road and looked down. A puddle of blood was smeared into the ground. As he looked closer he could see a trail of dark red going off the road, into the direction of the forest. 

“Oh my god, what the fuck,” Karkat pointed to the ground.

Sollux walked over to see what he was pointing at, “Well maybe it was like a bobcat or something. Those things can take a hit right?”

Karkat wasn’t listening to him, instead staring of into the woods.

“Or- or maybe it just was launched off the side of the road or- or something,” Sollux stuttered.

Karkat walked towards the edge of the woods.

“Karkat don’t get too close it may have run off in-“ Karkat shushed him.

He squinted into the woods. 

There definitely was something there. Breathing. He couldn’t really see the outline of whatever it was; just shadows moving very slightly.

“Sollux... It’s right there,” Karkat’s whisper came out as more of a squeek. 

“What are you talking about? Where?” Sollux stood next to Karkat trying to see.

“It’s... looking... right at us” Karkat was on the verge of tears.

Sollux was horrified. Not by the creature that he failed to see, but by Karkat’s fear. 

“Come on let’s get back in the car,” Sollux tried to say in a firm voice.

Karkat didn’t say anything. Just stood and pointed into the darkness. Sollux pulled Karkat away and pushed him into the car as gently as possible. As they drove off Karkat only stared out the window, into the woods.

They pulled up into Karkat’s driveway. Normally, Sollux would just dump him out on the sidewalk, but this time he walked him right to his door. Karkat had calmed down a bit but Sollux still wanted to make sure he was okay.

“Are you gonna be alright? Y,know, sleeping here alone?” Sollux shifted on his feet. He almost offered to stay the night, but quickly realized the implications of that offer, and decided not to make things awkward.

“I’ll be fine, thanks man,” Karkat scratched the back his head, “Besides, I’m not alone. I’ve got Crabby with me.”

“I still think that’s the stupidest name for a cat in the history of dumb cat names,” Sollux leaned against the wall of the house.

“Whatever, at least I don’t wear mismatched shoes, you creep,” Karkat said, pointing out the black and white shoes he wore. 

“KK, you wouldn’t know fashion if it hit you in the nuts,” Sollux smirked, “But seriously, are you good?”

“Yeah yeah I’m fine. Sorry for freaking out back there,” Karkat looked down at his own shoes. Doc Martins. That had to fashionable... right? “Uh goodnight man, thanks for the ride home.”

“No problem. ‘Night,” Sollux turned and went back up the pathway to his car.

Karkat closed the door and breathed in the cozy atmosphere of his home. He’d calmed down for sure, but he knew it was going to be a long night before he’d fall asleep again.


	3. Moving Through Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years in the past and four nerds gush about rpg games, three feelings get felt, two bros meet irl for the first time, and one inhaler is sincerely inhaled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this takes place like five or so years ago- all the characters are freshmen.
> 
> Vriska, Terezi, and Sollux were already friends and so were Aradia, Tavros, and Karkat. Then Vriska, Terezi, Aradia, and Tavros meet at a Tabletop Game store and they plan a lil meetup between the four of em and drag along Sollux and Karkat - who have been playing a game online together for like a year, but they don’t know who they are.
> 
> How is this a better summary than the summary?

Thursday 4:31 p.m.

Three teens, surely only out to cause trouble, silouhetted against the slow falling sunset that cast bright oranges and reds onto the dry landscape, walked across the train tracks that cut across the city.

“You’re gonna LOVE these guys, Sollux,” Terezi said trying to balance on the ridges of the tracks.

“Yeah, they aren’t completely insufferable like most of the other dimwits at school,” Vriska stretched her arms out behind her.

“That’s a low bar you’ve just set,” Sollux lisped over his gigantic blue and red braces that covered his misshapen teeth.

“Hey uh when we get to the river, when we see them, be cool? Like don’t pull any of that depressing shit you usually do, ‘kay?” Vriska glared at Sollux out of the corner of her large glasses.

Sollux squinted at her, “Well when you ask so nicely-“

“Sollux is gonna be cool, ‘cuz Sollux is always cool, right?” Terezi said with gritted teeth.

“Why are we even going out to an empty ravine? Couldn’t we have just gone out to eat or something?” Sollux complained.

“But then we wouldn’t be the rebellious teens we are!” Vriska thrust her fist in the air.

“Vriska, you play Dungeons and Dragons.”

“Maybe so, but have you considered shutting the fuck up?” 

They arrived at the cliffs where if they looked off the side they could see a roaring river, which made its way through town and ended up a few miles away at Lake Chippewa.

“Alright, we’re here where are these douchebags you won’t shut up about?” Sollux said, folding his arms and looking around.

“Over there, look!” Terezi beamed.

Sure enough, there was another party of teens arriving from the distance, like gladiators in a western movie. When they were close enough they exchanged pleasantries of “What’s up”s and “Hey”s. 

“Aradia, Tavros, this is Sollux. Be warned, he’s moody,” Terezi introduced him.

“Oh cool! We brought a moody teen as well! Karkat, this is Terezi and Vriska,” Aradia patted Karkat’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Karkat shuffled his shoes.

“Yup,” Sollux crossed his arms.

“... Anyways, you didn’t finish talking last time about how the hell travelling in Spelljammer works,” Vriska slipped back into a conversation she and Tavros had had last time they’d met at The Dice Dungeon; where they’d met.

They were all freshmen in the same high school, Ghostwood High, but it wasn’t until recently that they’d interacted.

The others floated off and began walking up ahead until it was just Karkat and Sollux trailing behind them. There was silence between the two, both trying and failing to understand all the rpg nonsense their friends were spewing. 

“So... You’re in my computer science class aren’t you?” Karkat attempted to shoot the breeze.

“Yup,” Sollux replied curtly, “I sit on the other side of the room.”

“Uhhuh,” Karkat could feel the awkwardness rising once again as there was a long silence.

“Do you play D&D?” Sollux tried to find some common ground of having to deal with a bunch of nerds.

“Nah,” Karkat said.

“Oh thank god. Do you play any video games?”

“Uh yeah a few, mostly arcade games,” Karkat seemed really interested in the sky, as he looked anywhere but the taller guy.

“What kinds?” Sollux asked.

“Just a lotta Grub Strife stuff y’know Desert Warfare-“ 

“I fucking love Desert Warfare,” Sollux broke out into a grin and turned to look at the shorter kid.

“Really? To be honest I’m not actually that great, but yeah dude that shit’s fuckin’ fun,” Karkat scratched the back of his head.

The two talked for just as long as the D&D nerds about their precious games; Sollux bragging about his “skills” and Karkat quickly becoming defensive of his own score.

“Dude you’ve gotta give me your handle so we can play together some time,” Karkat said.

“You sure you want an ass beating that bad?” Sollux adjusted his glasses on his crooked nose.

“Oh shut the fuck up,” Karkat said and jogged ahead to catch up to Tavros.

“Hey man, you got paper?” Karkat asked with a bit of a spring in his step, which caught Tavros off guard. He’d never seen him this enthusiastic.

“Uhhh yeah hold on a sec,” Tavros said, digging into his vest pockets. He was pretty weird and always seemed to carry something useful. He pulled out a capless pen and an old crumpled receipt.

He grabbed the paper and pen from him and ran back to Sollux. 

“Oh wow okay,” Sollux took the pen and paper, “Uh I need a writing surface, oh wait hold on-“

Sollux took Karkat by the shoulders and turned him around. He placed the paper on his back and began scribbling. When he finished, he handed the wrinkled scrap of paper back to Karkat who peered down at the name.

twinArmageddons

“Oh my god,” Karkat stared slack jawed at the paper, “You’re not serious are you?” He began nervously laughing.

“About my username?” Sollux cocked an eyebrow at him.

“You’re twin armageddons?” Karkat felt an odd mixture of excitement and vomit-inducing nausea.

“Yeah?” Sollux was starting to contract second-hand aprehension, “What’s wrong?”

“Dude it’s me, I’m carcinoGeneticist!” Karkat threw his hands in the air.

“No fucking way,” Sollux’s face split into a grin that almost hurt, “CG? For real?”

“I can’t tell if you look more or exactly the right amount of loser-y as I imagined you to be,” Karkat poked fun at him.

“Awww you fantacised about me CG!” Sollux poked right back, pretending to be embarrassed.

“More like I had nightmares,” Karkat rolled his eyes, “God I can’t believe you wear braces! You’re so fucking lame!”

“Yeah okay at least I’m not a shit eating gremlin,” Sollux frowned, “How tall are you? Five-three? Five-two?”

“Do not even fucking joke about my height. I’m like average,” Karkat huffed.

“Yeah, average for a gnome,” Sollux adjusted his glasses on his face.

“Okay that’s it,” Karkat raises his finger, “No more bullshit out of the bullshit machine!”

“But-“

“Shhhhhhhh!,” Karkat cuts him off.

A silence washed over them and the two finally noticed that the other four had stopped walking and were looking back at them in surprise.

“You two alright back there?” Aradia asked.

“Yeah why?” Karkat snapped back.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Terezi waved her hand. 

They continued walking along the disty path. The four had never seen the two so... chummy.

“Do you guys know each other?” Tavros asked curiously.

“Well uh sorta,” Sollux rubbed his neck.

“Yeah this is the asshole I’ve been telling you about that keeps stalking me on my server,” Karkat told Tavros and Aradia.

“I wasn’t stalking you; it’s merely coincidental that we keep getting stuck together, you self absorbed shitstain!” Sollux glared down at him.

The four lapsed back into their previous conversation while Sollux and Karkat began bickering over who stalked who. By the time they’d finally ran out of breath to talk, they reached the peak of the cliffs. They overlooked the valley and the far mountains in the distance. They could see the whole town being painted pink and orange by the falling sunset. 

While the six of them watched the sun in quiet awe, Karkat tried to sneak away from the group. He sat down on a large rock not too far away and stealthily took his inhaler out of his coat pocket and took a few deep breaths. Sadly, he wasn’t silent enough and Sollux looked down at him with a smirk. Karkat was getting ready for another dose of insults hurled at his direction.

“My brother has to use one of those too,” Sollux said gently. Karkat wasn’t really sure how to respond. Most of the time when people saw his inhaler they burst out laughing, but Sollux’s total personality flip gave Karkat whiplash. Slowly, Sollux looked a little embarrassed for mentioning it in the first place and stared straight ahead again.

 

It was a school night and soon they all headed home, parting off down different dark streetroads, guided by the burnt out streetlights. Fall had already left Ghostwood and the Winter chills made their way through the trees; a particularly bitter breeze biting at Karkat’s neck as he made his way past the dusky forest that flanked either side of the road. But the cold had no affect on him; the image of Sollux smiling down at him kept him warm all the way to his house. In the distance, a faint train horn sounded above the pine trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so idk what im doing but trust me I know where Im going.
> 
> Also yeah im slowly learning that i dont know how to write? But im trying to get over that? 
> 
> Mituna will actually show up in later chapters but thats like chapter 8 or something.


	4. This Charming Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one’s actually pretty long whoops. I don’t really know how to write party scenes so let’s see how this goes. 
> 
> FYI:  
> 1) egyptian war and speed are card games  
> 2) Paranoia is a game where you like sit in a circle and whisper questions to each other and then say names aloud and like then you play rock paper scissors and if you lose you have to say what the question was  
> 3) never have i ever (im pretty sure most people know this one though) is where you have to put down a finger every time someone lists something that they’ve never done but that you’ve done

Friday 

Karkat looked at himself in the full length mirror. He’d dug up a black collared shirt and a red tie from the depths of his closet and he stood trying over and over to recreate the folds in the tie, just as the book he had laid out told him to.

God, is that what I look like? Karkat thought to himself. He debated in his mind whether or not to just throw on a sweater and jeans. Maybe he just stay home? 

No. Terezi told him to go, and told him to wear something nice, and for once he was gonna fucking do it. 

He rode the blindinly neon bus into the densly populated side of town. The drive only took a half an hour and Karkat looked out the pitch black window at the pine trees engulfed in darkness. He’d brought his beat-up walkman (a hand-me-down from his older brother) and was listening to a mixtape that Kankri had made for his thirteenth birthday. It was filled with The Cure, The Smiths, and The Stone Roses; all of the angsty bands he knew Karkat adored. 

Kankri was off at college in Oregon now. He despised the way he was able turn every conversation into lecture and make speeches about anything and everything; finding every detail about him that could be seen as “problematic”. Karkat had known him long enough to know deep down, his behaviour was out of wishing for peace on earth and all that crap, but sometimes he could be a real asshole. 

Nevertheless, he missed him from time to time. Now that he was all alone in his little house, it was so quiet and empty. That’s how he ended up getting a cat in the first place; to keep him company.

Their father had left them a long time ago. Karkat remembers being twelve and not really understanding why Kankri and his dad were arguing all the time. His dad was a civil rights activist and legendary speaker. Karkat never actually heard him make speeches but he got stopped in the street a couple times by people who wanted to thank his dad for his influential words; so Karkat got the idea that he wasn’t too shabby.

They got postcards and envelopes full of money from the east coast every month but it still wasn’t the same. Kankri never talked about their father after he left. Karkat thought it best to stay out of it. That being said, Kankri stayed with Karkat until he was exactly eighteen and then hightailed it out of the rinky dink town of Ghostwood to go to college up north. He called almost every other week to check up on him, and though he pretended to hate it, he found that hearing his brother talk on and on for hours had a calming effect.

The bus pulled to a stop in front of a 7/11 and Karkat clambered out. It was only a short walk now to Terezi’s apartment building. Thankfully it was on the safer side of town and Karkat was quite the fast walker. It was only 6:30 but it was already pitch black; save for the street lamps and neon store signs with illuminated windows.

He reached the building and rang the intercom buzzer. The gate opened for him and he had to struggle his way up eight flights of stairs. He was sweating and panting by the time he reached the door to the apartment. Karkat mentally cursed Vriska and her unusual fetish for the number eight. When Terezi and her were picking apartments, Vriska only showed favoritism towards this one because of the floor it was on, which Karkat found to be fucking rigged. 

He knocked sluggishly on the door and it was promptly opened by Terezi.

“You made it!” She brought him in for a strangling/hug. 

Vriska closed the door behind him, “You look nice... for once.”

“She’s right; I love the tie!” Terezi played with the red tie before Karkat grabbed it back and pressed it against the front of his shirt.

“Yeah you guys don’t look too bad yourself,” Karkat remarked.

Terezi wore a cherry red leather jacket over a teal ringer shirt and some ripped jeans while Vriska wore a large cerulean suit jacket with a silk shirt tucked into high-waisted pants. Karkat didn’t know too much about fashion, but he assumed Kanaya would approve.

He helped set up the popcorn and chip bowls on the counter and quickly vacuum the carpet before the others arrived. Sadly, he was not in charge of the music. Terezi decided to put a CD from The Cars on the clunky tapedeck they owned, until Dave came to DJ. 

Their friends slowly started to trickle into the apartment after seven. Tavros and Gamzee were one of the first to arrive, toting “slime” pies, as Gamzee called them. They looked like green jello and custard filled but Terezi just politely thanked him and promptly hid them in the back of the fridge. 

Kanaya and Rose showed up with Dave who then situated himself in the corner with the speakers, putting on his own mixtape, a healthy dose of the Beastie Boys and Salt-n-Pepa. 

The rest came one after another, Equius and Nepeta, John and Jade, Eridan and Feferi; all wearing something straight out of a magazine. Equius had some sort of denim ensemble going on. Nepeta looked as though a glitter rainbow had thrown up on her. John had gone with a simple button up with a bowtie that matched Jades green dress. Eridan was covered in scarves as usual, but was coupled with a large brimmed hat and black overcoat which Feferi contrasted enourmously with a flowy summer dress that looked like she had a moths wings.

Everyone had clumped up into little circles talking about this and that, something Karkat despised. He grabbed the bowl of Doritos and sat himself on the red couch, stuffing his face. Before he knew it, Terezi plopped herself right next to him staring at him sternly.

“What?” Karkat finally said after a long silence, mouth filled with chips.

“Karkles, I thought you said you were gonna actually be sociable this time?” Terezi looked at him, or as much as a blind person could.

“I never said that, I said I’d come and that’s it,” Karkat pushed another handful of doritos in his mouth. 

“Okay well now you’re gonna talk to people; oh look it’s Dave! Let’s share doritos with Dave,” Terezi said, pulling Karkat up and pushing him over to where Dave was sitting on a barstool drinking a coke. 

Karkat was still hugging the bowl of doritos and looked between where Dave was and Terezi stood. He placed the bowl on the counter and gingerly sat next to Dave. Terezi gave him a thumbs up and left to find Vriska. 

“Hey,” Dave said before sipping his soda.

“Yeah,” Karkat popped a chip into his mouth.

“How’s the video store?” Dave asked.

“Still a video store. How’s the record shop?” Karkat asked in return.

“Not too boring,” Dave said.

They ate and sipped in silence.

“Where’s Sollux?” Dave asked after a while.

“Why?” Karkat said, looking around.

“It’s just that I always see you two hanging around each other,” Dave said, “I just figured it was weird if he wasn’t here.”

“I feel like there’s an insult in there somewhere, but you’re too much of a monotone dipshit for me to be able to tell,” Karkat grumbled.

“Don’t worry man, if I’m insulting you I’ll let you know,” Dave patted Karkat’s shoulder in a friendly manner, “I got your back.”

“God it’s fucking hot in here,” Karkat groaned trying to undo his tie all of a sudden and getting irritated when it started to choke him, “This is why you don’t let fourteen people in your living room all at once!”

“Will you just chill out a sec- you’re gonna end up strangling yourself,” Dave said, nudging Karkat’s hands out of the way and beginning to correctly untie his tie, “Jesus did you tie this yourself? It’s awful. Make sure you never join the Boy Scouts.” 

Dave lifted the tie from his head and handed it back. Karkat placed the tie on the counter and just swiveled around on the stool. The music that had been playing suddenly stopped and the room was plunged into silence.

“Oh shit gimme a sec,” Dave stood up and walked over to the tapedeck and placed a new cassette inside. After a moment Under My Thumb by The Rolling Stones began playing. Dave walked back to Karkat who had an eyebrow raised.

“What kind of mixtape is this?” Karkat said, judgingly, “Your sleazy makeout playlist?”

“Yeah,” Dave sat on the barstool, and finished his bottle of coke.

“Gross. Disgusting. Repulsive.,” Karkat stared into the void-filled shades Dave failed to ever remove.

“It sure is,” Dave said, a smirk breaking across his face, “Shit’s fuckin’ nasty.”

“God now I’m just imagining your awkward dysfunctional ass giving a sloppy-“ 

Just then Terezi got the clever idea to shout, “Guys, we’re gonna play spin the bottle!”

All twelve of them (Rose and Kanaya opted out; instead, flirting in the kitchen) were forced to sit on the rug on the floor in front of the couches and TV. Karkat tried very hard to let Terezi worm his way out of the situation but ended up stuck cross-legged between Dave and herself.

They used Dave’s empty coke bottle and spun it probably a hundred times (too many times were Eridan willing the bottle to land on Feferi by stopping it with his foot and feigning surprise every single time) before the bottle landed on Karkat. Nepeta turned bright red and gave him the quickest smooch on his nose. It was no secret she’d had a little crush on him since Elementary School. Karkat thought she was nice and all, pretty fun too, but he really didn’t talk to her a lot, for fear of accidentally leading her on. Even though he was sure Nepeta was silently hoping for the bottle to land on him - the fact that it actually did and she had to kiss him in front of everybody - he was sure she was just as uncomfortable as he was.

Karkat finally took the bottle and spun it. Karkat’s heart sped up and he started breathing a bit faster. It landed on, of course, Dave, of all people. They turned to face each other and Karkat seemed to be frozen in place. He looked up into Dave’s shades. He couldn’t tell his reaction except for his parted mouth in surprise. Karkat felt his entire face burn red like he’d just gotten a sunburn and just when he thought he’d explde - Dave slowly leaned into him if only to save him from embarrassment.

Just as their lips brushed against each other, none other than Sollux and Aradia entered through the door. The loud entrance caused the two to whip their heads to the door and jump away from each other in surprise.

“Sorry we’re late guys,” Sollux said carrying boxes, “But we brought pizza; so you can all thank us.” 

“Why are you all in a circle?” Aradia asked curiously, “Are you seancing? Don’t let us interrupt you!”

“Hah no Aradia,” Terezi went to the door to help the two bring in the food, and everyone else slowly got to their feet, rejoicing in the pizza.

The casual murmur of conversation grew louder and it was as if the whole game hadn’t happened. Karkat couldn’t tell if he was relieved or annoyed when the door bust open, saving him from having to go through the sloppy face slamming that would have ensued.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed anyone before. Terezi and him had that weird fling in middle school, and Terezi was... adventurous to say the least. However, aside from her, there wasn’t a whole lot of people lining up to kiss him. It didn’t help that Karkat may or may not have had some sort of crush on the Dave in question, and the exact crush may or may not still be lingering around. 

“Hey Terezi I forgot to ask, where’s Lemonsnout?” Tavros asked, taking a huge bite out of a cheeze pizza.

“Oh we left him at a doggy hotel for the night,” Terezi said, grabbing a pepperoni and pineapple slice, “No offense, but I don’t trust you guys to be drunk around my dog.”

“Wait, there’s beer?” Rose became suddenly very interested in something other than Kanaya for once.

“Oh shit, we forgot to take it out of the fridge,” Vriska slapped her face in frustration, “Hold on a sec.”

In a minute, there was several cases out on the counter and people were grabbing cans and pouring them into red solo cups. Karkat couldn’t help but feel the cliche like he was in some terrible coming of age movie.

Karkat scanned through the small crowd looking for the tall kid with glasses, and found Sollux speaking to Aradia in a hushed voice. They both looked annoyed. He noticed they’d been fighting lately, which was odd. For the most part they’d always gotten along, even through Sollux’s weird outbursts and Aradia’s niche interests.

She was a touch obsessed with the undead and things of that nature. She watched every zombie, ghost, and otherwise horror movie ever made and dragged Sollux along with her to the theaters to watch them over and over again, but he never complained, as long as he was with her, he was content.

But now they were fighting off in the corner of the party and it wrenched Karkat’s guts in a sickening manner. Suddenly, Aradia broke off the conversation and stormed off to the kitchen, probably to grab something to drink. Karkat watched Sollux’s temper rise and swell; then saw him choke it down and hold his temple as he winced in pain; a headache presumably. 

Seeing Aradia try to strike up a conversation with Feferi, gave Karkat the courage to grab a drink for Sollux and walk over to him.

“Hey man,” Karkat said, nudging the can into Sollux’s grip, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Sollux grabbed it from his hands and took a sharp swig, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Karkat raised an eyebrow up at him, “Cause you don’t-“

“I said I’m fine, KK!” Sollux snapped at him. For a good, solid, moment, Sollux and Karkat shared a tense silence. Then, it broke as Sollux brushed past him and walked to the kitchen, carefully avoiding Aradia and anyone else who wanted to greet him. Karkat saw from across the room, Sollux grabbing two more bottles of beer from the fridge and walking briskly into the bathroom, hearing the door lock. 

It was going to be a long night.

From behind him, Gamzee snaked an arm around Karkat’s neck in an act of comradery.

“Heyyyyy brooooo,” Gamzee smiled down at him, slurring his speech, “When did you get here man?” 

“Gamzee, I’ve been here the whole time,” He grumbled as Tavros came to the rescue and politely plucked Gamzee’s arm from Karkat.

“Really?” Gamzee looked in astonishment to Tavros, “Then why didn’t you motherfuckin say something!” His breath was swamped in booze.

“I did!” Karkat pitched his voice higher, “I said several things! Including saying hello to you when you walked through the door three hours ago!”

Gamzee looked like he might have a stroke if he tried to comprehend what Karkat had just said any harder. Noticing the odd lull in conversation, Tavros chimed up, “Hi, Karkat!”

“Hi, Tavros,” Karkat sighed.

Karkat edged himself away from the two stoners and made his way to the couch where Dave and Terezi were sitting, getting ready to play a game of Egyptian War. He watched Terezi skillessly try to shuffle the cards before Dave politely took the deck. He shuffled them into a pile and then, using only one hand, two fingers, he cut the deck in half. 

Karkat sucked at this game and they were only five minutes in before he lost his whole hand and had to sit and watch Dave and Terezi shoot back and forth between slicing out cards and slamming their hands down onto the pile - which ended in a lots of smashed fingers and bruised palms. 

Just before Terezi could steal Dave’s last few cards, Karkat heard the sound of the bathroon door opening up again, and he whipped his head up to see a less than sobor Sollux shuffle out. It seemed that Karkat was the only one to notice him reappear. He excused himself from the couch and quickly strode over to Sollux. 

“Dude, what the fuck?” Karkat said, grabbing his arm and moving him over to a quiet corner of the apartment. 

“Whaddya mean KK?” Sollux slurred out, grinning like an idiot. Karkat wondered if it was just the lighting or if it looked like Sollux had been crying.

“I mean that you’re getting fucking plastered in the bathroom when you know full well you become a prick when you’re drunk” Karkat lowered his voice, “If Terezi finds out, she’s gonna be pissed!”

“Why do you care?” Sollux said, folding his arms.

“See! You’re being a nit-picky little prick!” Karkat spoke in a high pitch, and then sighed, “C’mon let’s get you some water.”

“No way,” Sollux dug in his heels when Karkat tried to push him towards the kitchen.

“Stop being fucking difficult,” Karkat said, sternly.

Sollux looked deep into Karkat’s eyes, “I don’t need your help.”

Karkat had heard that tone of voice before, “Sollux please just c’mon, I don’t want you ruining the party-“

“Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me,” Sollux was serious this time. Karkat never understood Sollux. When he was drunk he was somehow able to be stupidly loopy and way too real at the same time. He hated it.

“Fine. Whatever. I don’t care. It’s gonna be your fuckin’ fault when you fuck shit up,” Karkat raised his hands and walked back to the couch. 

This time, Terezi and Dave were playing Speed, and true to its name they were going lightning fast and Karkat enjoyed the mind-numbing task of tracking the game. He watched as the two played round after round, both taking turns at winning, then offering to let Karkat play (which he refused), and then going back to the card ping pong match.

After a while, Nepeta and Feferi plopped on the couch and announced they were starting a game of Paranoia. Somehow, Karkat, Dave, and Terezi got roped in, along with Equius, Gamzee, and Tavros. They sat in a makeshift circle on the two perpindicular couches. 

They played round after round- asking questions like: Who’d make the cutest couple? (Gamzee and Tavros), who would you want to have with you on a deserted island? (Equius), and who is secretly dating? (Dave and Terezi)

Then suddenly, the hallway door slammed open with a loud thump to the wall as Sollux scrambled to follow after an Aradia who was racing to the front door in a huff.

“Aradia, wait! I didn’t mean that-“ 

But Aradia wasn’t listening as she stormed out of the apartment. Sollux jumped as the door was slammed in his face. He stood for a minute just staring, dead silent; just like the rest of the apartment who’d all stopped what they were doing, until finally he turned his back on the door and scowled his way to the kitchen again, presumably to indulge in as many more bottles of beer as possible. 

“Uhhh I’ll be right back,” Karkat excused himself from the group and made his way over to the kitchen.

Karkat wordlessly pulled Sollux into Terezi’s brightly colored bedroom. There was a big red lamp lit cage holding an albino bearded dragon sitting on her dresser, and a crimson fluffy rug on her floorboards. Karkat sat Sollux down on the creaky teal bed while he sat himself on her desk chair.

“Okay, tell me what the fuck’s been going on. Right now,” Karkat put on his serious face.

Sollux looked sheepishly up at him and then glued his eyes back to the floor, “She’s just been acting fucking weird. I don’t get it.”

“When did this start?” Karkat asked.

Sollux scratched his head, “Like a week ago? I don’t know - Aradia went out exploring abandoned buildings and stuff like she usually does and I guess she saw something or something I dunno.”

“Saw what?” Karkat leaned forward.

“She... she didn’t really say but... she’s been saying a buncha weird shit I don’t know Karkat,” Sollux sunk his head into his hands.

Sollux almost never used his real name and the fact that he did made him all the more worried. 

“Listen buddy, it’s gonna be okay. Tomorrow you’re gonna apologize for whatever you said and you’re gonna quit acting like a fucking dick. But right now you’re gonna stop drinking-“ He swiped the bottle from Sollux’s hands, “-And you’re gonna play whatever idiotic game is going on in the living room right now.”

“KK, I-“

“Shush,” Karkat brought him to his feet and dragged him out to where everyone was sitting on the couches and chairs with their hands raised up.

“Hey! You guys are just in time for Never Have I Ever!” Jade exclaimed.

“Aw man, game over- Karkat always wins this thing,” Dave smirked up at him as Karkat sat down beside him on the couch, Sollux sitting on the armrest.

“I do not!” Karkat protested.

“It’s true!” John pointed out, “I’m pretty sure Karkat’s like the most pure out of all of us.”

“False: I have done many things, in fact I have done all of the things.”

Over the course of the game, however, it was proven that Karkat has indeed done nothing ever. Drinking, smoking, skinny dipping, and so so much worse- Karkat had done none of if it. By the end of the game he was still holding up all of his fingers and his face was only tinged a little bit red. 

On the opposite side of the spectrum- Sollux had been the first to be out with all his fingers down and was now leaning on Karkat for support and dozing off. He needed to get home. 

It was past twelve and people had already begun to peel off and leave so Karkat took the opportunity to say his goodbyes. He held up Sollux, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and grabbing his waist and making the trek down the eight flights of stairs. 

“Sollux, where’d you even park?” Karkat asked once they’d made it safely to the bottom- to which he was answered by a loud snoring.

Karkat groaned and reached into the coder’s pockets, searching for his keys. When he finally found them (in his back pocket- a horrifying and boney experience) he began clicking the beeping button around- desperately looking for the dumb car that Sollux seemed to be obsessed with.

As he was hopelessly walking up and down the street tapping the button, he saw Dave walk out of the apartment building, spot Karkat and run up to the two- waving something in his hand.

“Forgetting something?” Dave came closer and Karkat realized he was holding his tie he’d left on the counter.

“Oh shit thanks,” Karkat steadied Sollux and reached out to grab the tie and stuff it in his pocket.

“Here, I got him,” Dave said, moving around to the other side of Sollux and held him up along with Karkat.

They walked for eons until Karkat finally heard the beeping of the car. The two helped push Sollux into the passenger seat and buckled him up.

Karkat closed the door on him and heaved a few breaths, “Hey thanks man, seriously.”

Dave leaned back on his heels and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, “Don’t worry about it.”

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment.

“Are you gonna be okay driving him home?” Dave peered into the window.

“Oh sure- I’ve been to his apartment loads of times-“

“No I mean like- do you even have a liscense?” Dave asked.

“Not... physically,” Karkat admitted, “But my dad taught me how a long time ago.”

“Dude I don’t wanna find out how you died by crashing into a pool in the newspaper tomorrow,” Dave crossed his arms, “Let me drive him home.”

Karkat thought for a second and then gave in, “Fine- but we’re not listening to any of your shitty mixtapes.”

“Okay first of all-“

Karkat didn’t hear the rest of him speak on account of him getting in the backseat and shutting the door on him.

The drive to Sollux’s apartment was pretty silent save for the soft snoring in the passenger seat. Once they reached the building they hoisted Sollux’s arms back around their shoulders and took the elevator up to his room. Thankfully, Mituna was home to take him to bed and they put his car keys back in his pockets. It was only until the two were back in the elevator when it dawned on Karkat.

“Oh shit,” Karkat face-palmed, “How are we supposed to get home now?”

“Well we can just walk back to Vriska’s apartment- I parked my car there and then I’ll drive you home.”

“Are you sure? I’m sorry you had to go through all this. Sollux really doesn’t realize how much of a needy dependant little-“

“It’s no trouble man,” Dave said raising a hand to him. Karkat could of sworn he saw a glimmer of a smile cross his face.

“Thanks,” Karkat pulled up his hoodie to the cold air as they began walking down the sidewalk, guided only by the streetlights that flooded the path with yellow light. Not a soul seemed to be awake in the empty town and Karkat was glad to be walking in the quiet night with Dave, of all people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter picks up where this one leaves off. I just didn’t want this chapter to be too long.


	5. Down Endless Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, you say you'll be fine  
> When you walk out that door  
> Oh, will it be that easy  
> To see me no more
> 
> Well, will you be fine  
> Are you complete  
> Say you'll survive  
> Down Endless Street

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picks up right after the last chapter. I originally wrote this chapter with a slightly different ending- I don’t really wanna say why but to be honest this ending is WAY more awkward and weird sounding but ohhh well. Thanks for reading.

Karkat realized they had been walking for blocks- not saying a word and alarms went off in his head to find something to say if only to break the tension.

“So uh- how’s the rapping thing going?” Nice. Nice one Karkat. Hole in one.

“It’s going,” Dave replied, monotone.

“Neat,” Neat? Seriously?

“How’s the programming computer viruses thing going?” Dave smirked and turned to look down at Karkat.

“Okay, no, I don’t make computer viruses, I program computers. Now, do I sometimes accidentally create viruses that break entire systems? Perhaps! But the point is that I do not do that on purpose and that’s what makes me such a genius and in many ways more competent than you, Strider.”

“I don’t think there was a shred of logic in that string of words whatsoever.”

“Have you considered that maybe my intelligence is just too advanced for your pea brain to even comprehend?”

“God I hope so, or there may be something severely wrong with your head,” Dave retorted.

Karkat gave Dave a light punch to his shoulder, “Pea. Brain.”

At that, Dave wrapped an arm around Karkat’s shoulders, “Uh-huh.”

Karkat was suddenly very glad the lamps only gave off a very dim glow because his face was now assuredly beet red. He then became extremely conscious of how hot his face had gotten and was worried Dave would be able to feel the warmth radiating off him, a contrast to the chilling air, and he unwrapped his arm.

“Hands off, Strider, I only date famous rappers.” 

“Oh shit! Does that make Terezi Biggie?” Dave laughed. He took off his shades only to rub his eyes a bit, “Sorry I just keep imagining her face on his body and vice-versa.”

While his aviators were down, Karkat looked up into his eyes. He rarely got to see them on account of him religously wearing his sunglasses. But as he looked into his eyes he was reminded of why he wore his shades in the first place. His right eye had been tinged pink and a red smudge hid in the corner of his sclera. Karkat quickly looked away, realizing he’d been staring.

He coughed to cover up his embarrassment, “Hey uh- how’s your eye doing?” Smooth. Real smooth.

Dave looked a bit caught off guard, “It’s fine... I think it’s cleared up a lot since-...”

“Are you still- do you hate him?” Karkat asked.

“... It wasn’t his fault,” Dave kept looking straight ahead, putting his shades back on.

 

 

 

Back in highschool, sophomore year, Karkat had slowly moved away from his group of friends. Instead of staying in the computer lab with Sollux for lunch, playing stupid computer games with him, he started sitting with Dave and his friends; which led to Sollux spending more and more time around Aradia and Tavros.

It got to the point where the two only saw each other in their math class. However, Dave sat right between the two in their row, so most of the time Sollux only listened in on their conversations or spoke briefly when they had to do group work.

So on the day where Sollux had forgotten to take his meds for the fifth day in a row and Dave happened to be tapping his pen on the desk in such a way that got under Sollux’s skin to the point where every noise Dave made seemed to rattle his brain, it was no wonder that Sollux chose that day to lose his shit.

Within seconds Dave was on the floor, recieving blow after blow to the face until Sollux resorted to grapping his collar and thrashing his skull against the hard linoleum floor. All sounds had drifted away from him and the only thing that remained was the blood rushing out from Dave’s nose and the tears from his bruised eyes. 

And then just as fast as it had happened there were arms pulling him from Dave. He didn’t resist. He’d done what he needed to and he could finally breathe easy; but as he looked up finally, he met Karkat’s horrified face that was just staring at him. He hadn’t even bothered to try to help Dave but was just sitting and looking as Sollux with such disgust that it wrenched his gut into knots.

He was suspended for two weeks and when he came back to school he was placed on the complete opposite side of the room from Karkat and Dave, all the way in the back of the room, so that when Dave came back from the hospital another week later, he could just watch his best friend being taken away from him. It was torture. But he knew he deserved it.

In the halls, Karkat didn’t even attempt to notice him anymore. He didn’t exist in his world anymore.

That semester, he started buying from Gamzee and spended afternoons getting high with Aradia under the bleachers. On really awful nights he sneaked beers from his dad’s secret stash and got drunk by himself. He skipped classes, he “forgot” to take his meds, he refused to do homework.

One day, sometime in Spring, Karkat for the first time in months actually looked at Sollux as he entered the math classroom. He’d come to school looking like he’d gotten jumped in an alleyway. He had a purple shiner on his right eye and his nose was completely broken. Rumor went around that’d he’d actually paid Equius to do it, but the hunk of a wrestler kept his mouth zipped.

By April, most of the whole friendgroup had all sort of drifted apart for various reasons: Terezi and Vriska had their big fight, Eridan had recently started brawling Sollux in the mall parking lot, and Gamzee was by all means batshit crazy, they barely even saw him in school anymore; but Terezi wouldn’t stand for any of it. She sent out a massive email inviting them all to a party at her house (at the time, a mansion out in the woods) under the guise of it being an April Fool’s Day Party. 

It rained the night of the party, causing everyone’s outfits to get soaking wet before they entered the house. The actual party itself was sort of lame since most everyone kept to their own little groups for the most part. By the time the pizza was being served, Karkat already felt sick. Not because of his allergies to Terezi’s big fat stupid dumb dog or from the thundering outside, but just sick of how... they’d all been best friends before and now they’d grown up and changed and it just twisted his gut. 

He hurried himself out onto the balcony to get some air but immediately regretted his decision. There was Sollux, just leaning on the railing and looking out at the tops of the soaking branches. Terezi’s house was literally out in the middle of the woods so there were only trees to see for miles before the flickering lights of the small town came into view below the crest of the hill that the mansion was perched on. Out in the distance, the train passed between the mountains and sounded its wistful horn over the wind. Karkat silently thanked the gods that Terezi had an awning protecting the balcony from the downpour.

For a moment, he simply stood and watched him, slightly unsure of how to approach his (ex?) best friend, knowing he must’ve heard him shut the door. Sollux’s head turned slightly, taking notice of him, and then going back to watch the rain.

Karkat debated whether or not he should just bail and head back inside, but something inside him pushed him forward, leaning him against the rail. He looked out at the blinking lights while he thought of something to say, his mouth opening and closing several times.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Sollux said, keeping his focus on the douglas firs.

“I want to, though,” Karkat replied.

Sollux ignored him.

“Sollux, listen, I’m- I’m sorry for...” Karkat trailed off, grasping at words.

“Sorry for what?” Sollux said, monotone, “You didn’t do anything.”

“I’m sorry for- for abandoning you... ignoring you. I just- I didn’t know what to say. Things just... got so weird,” Karkat fumbled, “And I know you don’t like talking about this touchy-feely type stuff but, I just wanted you to know, even if you don’t care or don’t wanna talk to me anymore, I just wanted to say... I’m sorry”

Whenever Karkat rambled on like this, Sollux usually just tuned him out or made fun of him for it but this time he felt an odd twist at his guts. He had this weird urge to just grab his stupid face and-

“Sollux? Can we- Are we still friends?” Karkat looked up at him with his big dumb puppy hazel eyes and Sollux’s heart leaped.

Sollux waited a moment, trying to find the right words to say, “Sorry KK, I’m only friends with people who don’t completely suck at programming.”

“Oh my god shut up” Karkat groaned and rolled his eyes, “This is why I’m not friends with narcisistic assholes!”

Sollux almost shot back with asking why he still hung around Dave then, but he figured it was, perhaps, too soon to mention him, “Hey but that monologue you just did was pretty good, how long did it take you to memorize that?”

“Shut up, shut up, fucking friendship offer rescinded,” Karkat’s face turned beet red.

“No I’m serious! It was so heartfelt! I am genuinely balling my eyes out here man; I am wailing like a baby,” Sollux laughed, wrapping an arm around Karkat.

“Oh my god I hate you- I hate you so much,” Karkat said trying to unrwap himself from Sollux.

Sollux calmed down a bit from laughing and just took a moment to really look at Karkat. It’d been months since he’d been this close to him. Was that a new freckle near his left eye? He thought he even saw a tiny little scar cutting aross his nose.

“Sollux, what the fuck are you looking at,” It had been silent for a solid minute.

“I missed you,” It was barely audible over the sound of splashing rain, but Karkat heard it. And he heard it again and again as it echoed through his mind. 

“I missed you too, you big fucking idiot. Now let’s go inside before I die of hypothermia,” Karkat grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back into the warm living room where they were glued to the other’s side for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

 

They’d finally reached Dave’s car, a red 1990 Toyota Celica; a hand-me-down birthday present from his older brother. They drove to Karkat’s house listening to a mixtape Dave had made the summer before they graduated. Waves of memories flooded Karkat’s mind: the river they jumped in, the neopolitan ice cream they ate on Jade’s lawn, running around town in the warm midsummer night. 

With sunny thoughts in his head, Karkat fought his drooping eyes to stay awake. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Dave pulled up to his house. They sat for a moment; Karkat was trying to wake himself up.

“Hey, thanks for driving me home,” Karkat yawned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dave said.

Karkat just sat, looking up at Dave; he felt like he was waiting for something, but he didn’t really know what it was.

“Why are you staring at me,” Dave asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I dunno,” Karkat replied, “Guess I’ve never seen something so ugly before.”

“Oh come on, you’ve gotta admit, I’m the sweetest ass you’ve ever had the privelage to kiss.”

“Uhh we didn’t actually kiss,” Karlat pointed out, “Our lips didn’t even touch.”

“You poor soul,” Dave smirked.

“Oh shut up,” Karkat huffed, “I’m still gonna have to bleach my mouth for even being NEAR your disgusting pie-hole.”

“Dude, don’t lie, you’d beg to have sloppy makeouts, in fact I bet you’re dying to get home and practice with your pillow.”

“Jesus Dave, you’re fucking disgusting,” Karkat pretended to gag and began to open the door, “This was all just a ploy to get me out of your car quicker wasn’t it?”

“Or maybe I was trying to get you to stay,” Dave suddenly looked serious.

“Yeah right, whatever,” Karkat rolled his eyes, “Later, loser.” 

And with that he pushed the door closed and walked up to his house. 

Dave stayed an extra minute making sure Karkat got inside okay before he sighed in relief. He sunk his head into his hands and inadvertantly, slipped his sunglasses from his face. He used his frozen hands to try to cool down his red face. He knew the rest of the night was going to be him replaying the exact moment at the party Karkat was a few breaths away from kissing him, from completely changing the orbit of the planets, from stopping time in its tracks and waiting for the two to catch up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See what I mean? weird. Btw constructive criticism is GREATLY appreciated since I literally have no one to test read this stuff. Next chapter will be super short but it’ll cone out like tomorrow.


	6. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhh this is a really short chapter but its pretty weird and surreal and a little bit based on a dream i once had. yeah this one has a lot of the more graphic violence/gore (i actually felt a little sick to my stomach while writing this). again, I HATE the ending.

An open field, covered in blankets of shimmery white snow. The sky was dark but the ground illuminated with a blue tint as if it were day. It was still. No wind, no noise.

Flashes of red splotches appeared on the ground, quickly to be replaced with the pure white snow again. It was as if someone had a slideshow on and were clicking back and forth through vacation pictures. The scene finally settled on the red snow. 

A red mangled corpse lay strewn across the white. The body was so disfigured, it was too difficult to distinguish who it was. A wet tangled mass of hair masked the face and creeped across the icy floor.

The scene switched rapid fire. The corpse lay on the ground, then it looked like it had been cut into pieces and seperated acoss the landscape, and then the body came back together again. The scene cycled through these images and changed the various places the body was placed. 

After an eternity, a chasm in the field opened up and the pody parts slowly slid their way over like a horribly made claymation film and fell inside the dark vortex. 

The entire scene changed again as a mass of trees were illuminated by a solitary flashlight. From behind one of the farther trees, a dark figure leaned out, eyes shining from the light. 

“Find me.”

 

Karkat shot up from his bed, drenched in sweat. His sheets were now completely soaked and he sat, chest heaving, trying to calm himself down. He glanced over at the alarm clock. 

3:13 a.m.

He felt his bare feet touch the cold wooden floor as he slowly stood up from his bed, walking towards the window on the other side of the room. He opened the blinds.

Snowflakes fell from the heavens and gathered on the windowpane.


	7. Just Another Diamond Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad flirting. Boy-talk. Pizza. Play fights. PILLOW fights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so Sollux’s apartment is one of those cool two story ones, but it’s pretty cramped. Mituna is like a video game competition champion and thats like, his main source of income while Sollux rakes in the dough with freelance coding as well as a lot of hacking people’s accounts and charities (but like, the bad ones).
> 
> also idk how to italicize apparantly so i had to improvise oops

Saturday 11:39am

Sollux drove down the deserted highway, past douglas firs and the duck pond. The ducks of course, had already flown south by now and the pond was now frozen and laid with a thin sheet of snow. A murder of crows shreeked and flew off of their tree as he pulled up in front of the shabby cabin that lay on the outskirts of the Coyote Cliffs. 

Sollux stepped out of the car and noticed the many dug up holes that lay around the cabin. Aradia loved to “excavate” and dig up fossils or skeletons that she used to decorate her tiny house. She was gonna be a great archeologist someday. 

He climbed up the porch steps and knocked on the wooden door, but when his knuckle hit the door, it opened inwards. She must have forgotten to lock the door again like she always does. 

Sollux stepped into the cramped cabin, it had only a small living room with a kitchen on the back wall and a bedroom that had a teeny bathroom branching off of it. There were flowing maroon curtains covering up the drafty windows and seperating the bedroom from the main room. 

It was empty. Not a sound. Nothing cooking on the stove (or rather burning, as Aradia often forgot she had the fire on). Nothing but the soft wind blowing through the shack.

“Aradia!” Sollux called, “Are you in there?”

He walked into her bedroom. No one sleeping on the old mattress that was buried under the mountain of quilts she had made herself. Not a noise came from the bathroom. 

She must be out on a hike. Sollux thought to himself. She did go on hikes all the time, but she always made sure to write a note or something, just so this exact situation wouldn’t occur. 

He worried about her constantly. He never let on how much he truly did care, but something about her living all alone in that cabin at the edge of the woods made his skin crawl. She’d been orphaned when her last relative- her sister- abandoned her in middle school. One day, she had come home and there was just no one there. No one in town heard from her sister ever again.

It was a good thing she was so tough, she learned to live on her own. Even though it probably wasn’t realistically as charming as it seemed, Sollux found her life enchanting. She seemed like a character straight out of a book. 

Sollux didn’t really have a lot of freelance work to take care of today and he couldn’t get the other night out of his head. He’d been such a dick. She had stormed out of Terezi’s apartment and Sollux didn’t even have the decency to run after her. He just let her leave and she probably ended up walking all the way home. He could have offered her a ride home at least, but that may have been a bad idea anyway judging from how drunk he was last night. Nevertheless, he was determined to make it up to her. He’d wait all day for her to get home if he had to. 

So he waited, sitting on her couch and leafing through the books she had laying around. He even put a dusty record from her mini collection on her old wooden turntable - an old Vashti Bunyan album. Sollux remembered looking around through the record store hopelessly for something to pop out in front of him to tell him what Aradia might like. Eventually, he’d found this one, hidden on the very back of a shelf, and the cover had somehow reminded him of Aradia. It had a colonial looking lady looking out of a cottage surrounded by farm animals, all painted in faded, dull earth colors. He’d bought it on a whim and when he gave it to Aradia, he couldn’t tell if she genuinely liked it or had pretended to for his sake, but she definitely played her Fleetwood Mac and Grateful Dead records plenty more times than she ever did his record.

 

Sollux didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he awoke, the vibrant warm hues of the sunset flooded the room. Sollux looked down at his red digital watch (the matching blue one was on his opposite wrist). 

5:47 p.m.

God taking naps never sat with him well. He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Maybe she went over to hang out with Tavros or something? Sollux figured she must have wanted some space from him and he gave up on waiting for her. 

As he drove his car back down the winding dirt path, something inside him told him to turn back, to stay longer, to know that something was wrong, but Sollux tried to ignore that voice in his head. He tried to pin that thought to his obnoxious paranoia, but it still nagged him, if at least at a quieter volume.

He knew she must still be mad at him; that’s why she’s avoiding him. Maybe if he got her a new record she might choose to forget last night’s incidents. 

He drove to Scratch Records and parked right outside. As he entered the store, the bell rang above him and as he looked up, he suddenly realized what a bad idea it was to come to this record store.

There Karkat was, sitting on the counter and was, what looked like, flirting with none other than resident cool kid, Dave Strider himself. The two looked so engrossed in their conversation they barely even heard Sollux enter and he took this opportunity to try to walk around the shelves of records without them noticing.

After drooling over a lot of newly stocked Radiohead albums and restraining himself from buying them all, Sollux found an album titled “The Worst of Jefferson Airplane”. Sollux knew that was one of Aradia’s favorite bands and she’d probably appreciate the title, so he worked up the courage to walk up to the counter where the two were now arguing playfully.

Karkat noticed him first and slid off from the counter, his eyes widening, “Sollux, hey, when’d you get here man?”

“Like ten minutes ago?” Sollux placed the record on the counter.

“Oh, I’ll get that for you,” Dave rang him up and placed the album in a plastic blue bag.

“Well... see you guys later-“ Sollux was cut off by Karkat.

“I was just about to leave anyway; it’s getting kind of late,” Karkat started walking out along with Sollux, “I’ll call you later, Dave?”

“Sounds cool,” Dave watched them leave, taking out a new issue of Game Bro.

 

The bell rang above their heads as they exited the store.

“So... do you need me to drive you home?” Sollux asked, questioningly.

“No no, I mean well, eventually,” Karkat struggled to keep up with Sollux’s long strides, “I just... wanted to hang out with you.”

“Oh,” Sollux said, simply, “Sure.”

“Video games at your house?” Karkat suggested.

“Uh yeah of course,” Sollux rubbed the back of his neck, “But first I’ve gotta drop something off at Aradia’s”

“Oh,” Karkat tensed up, “Right.”

 

Once they’d gotten to the car, Karkat tried to make small talk, “Snowed last night.”

“Huh? Oh, uh-huh” Sollux was a little too hungover this morning to realize.

“Pretty weird for November, am I right?”

Sollux looked sideways at Karkat before returning his eyes to the road, “Why are you talking about the weather? What’s going on?”

“What? What do you mean?” Karkat said, caught a little off guard.

“KK, you only small talk when something’s wrong.”

“Don’t try psychoanalyzing me, creep,” Karkat huffed, “Besides, it IS weird. It usually doesn’t snow till December at least.”

“Well I’m glad your internal clock is working right,” Sollux said sarcastically.

 

Sollux pulled up, once again, to Aradia’s little shack. He hopped out of the car, carrying the blue bag. Karkat was about to step out before Sollux called out to him.

“It’ll only take a minute,” Sollux said, “I’ll be right back,” and he went back inside the house, finding it exactly as he had left it, only hours ago. 

“Aradia?” Sollux called out, hopeful this time. He tried calling her name a few more times before he knew it was no use. He placed the bag on her bed, smoothing the folds of the sheets. 

Before he knew it, tears began to fall from his eyes. He didn’t really know why he was crying, but once he started, he couldn’t stop himself. He tried to bury his face in his hands, lifting his glasses higher up on his head and muffled choked up sobs into his palm.

From behind him he heard the floor creak. He whipped around to see Karkat standing in the doorframe, holding onto the wall. 

“S-sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were... okay,” He spoke in a soft, unsure voice.

Karkat came closer into the room, “Where is she?”

Sollux stayed silent, not trusting his voice to come out clearly. He used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe his eyes and clean the droplets that fell on his glasses.

“How long has she been gone?” Karkat asked.

Sollux kept his head down, focusing on the wood panels on the floor and shrugged his shoulders. Karkat not knowing how to comfort him, awkwardly walked towards him and placed a steady hand on Sollux’s arm and squeezed. 

“We’ll find her, Sollux,” Karkat reassured him, “She’ll come back.”

 

 

Once they’d made it back to Sollux’s apartment, Karkat ordered a giant pizza and they played Street Fighter over and over again until Karkat was close to throwing the controller out the window and smashing the TV with his fists.

“You’re such a fucking cheater!” Karkat accused him, taking another angry bite into his pepperoni slice.

“You’re just upset you don’t know any of the special moves yet,” Sollux said, wearing a smug grin as he laced his hands behind his head and leaned back into the couch.

“That’s called cheating, dipshit,” Karkat raised his voice.

“Knowing the combo attacks is not cheating, you moron,” Sollux said.

“It’s cheating if I don’t own the godamn game and I don’t know all the moves yet!” Karkat said, losing his temper.

“That’s not cheating, that’s just unfortunate,” Sollux said, sipping from his can of soda.

Karkat, without hesitation, popped the drink in his hand so that as Sollux was trying to drink, the contents shot up into his face and onto the front of his shirt.

“You’re so fucking dead, Vantas,” Sollux said, placing his ruined drink onto the coffee table and reaching to grab Karkat, who rolled off the couch and onto the floor just in time.

“It’s pronounced VANTAS not VANTATH, idiot,” Karkat said, mocking his lisp.

Sollux’s face turned a burning shade of red, “Okay now you’re REALLY fucking dead.”

Karkat scrambled to his feet and ran up the stairs, gripping the rails as Sollux clambered up the stairs right behind him. When Karkat reached the top, he opened the first door he saw and slammed it shut right behind him, using all his body weight to keep it shut as Sollux fidgeted with the handle and repeatedly try to force it open.

“Give up Captor, your pathetic attempts to open this door are futile and quite frankly, embarrassing.”

“Jesus christ dude, just come out of there already, that’s ‘Tuna’s room.”

“Huh? Oh. Whoops.”

As Karkat leaned his back against the door to take in his surroundings, he did indeed appear to be not entirely alone. At the desk in the corner of the room, Mituna, Sollux’s older brother, sat at a computer, headphones on, completely oblivious to the world. His long, wavy, surfer/skater hair covered up most of his face and Karkat briefly wondered how he was even able to see the screen, especially since underneath all that hair, Karkat thought he could see a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

While Karkat tried to get a closer look at what he was playing on the computer, Sollux managed to open the door and grab Karkat out of the bedroom. 

“Sorry, but he’s kind of playing in a competition right now,” Sollux explained, “He takes them very seriously.”

As soon as he said that, a string of unintelligible insults and yelling came from the room.

“Why’s he wearing those sunglasses? It’s nearly seven p.m.” Karkat asked.

“Uh... it’s a light sensory type thing; the screen gets too bright for him sometimes...” Sollux tried to explain.

“Oh huh... well anyways,” And with that, Karkat ran around Sollux and bolted into his own room and shutting the door on his face and locking it behind him.

“Godamn it, Karkat did you fucking lock it?” Sollux asked, rattling the handle from the other side of the door.

“Man it’s been awhile since I’ve been in here,” Karkat looked around the room, his eyes landing on what sat on the desk “Did you buy a new computer?” Karkat asked, oggling at the high tech looking moniter with red and blue wires tangled around the back of it.

“No, genius, I built it,” Karkat could hear Sollux leaning onto the door, “It’s not that fucking difficult.”

“Hey! You still have your keyboard in here!” Karkat gasped, walking toward the little black and white piano, “I thought you gave this thing away?”

“Alright, stop eyeballing my stuff and open the damn door,” Sollux pounded on the door.

“What’s the magic word?” Karkat loved being irritating sometimes. 

“Oh fuck off and open the door already,” Sollux whined.

To answer him, Karkat turned the keyboard on and started trying to play Mary Had A Little Lamb.

From behind the door, Karkat heard a loud sigh followed by a dejected, “Please.”

Karkat then unlocked the door and flopped onto Sollux’s bed, who opened the door and finally came in.

“You’re fucking insufferable sometimes, you know that?” Sollux looked utterly defeated.

“Yeah well, maybe next time don’t cheat in Street Fighter,” Karkat said in a matter of fact tone.

“OH MY GOD,” Sollux groaned and plopped face first onto the black sheets of the bed.

Karkat took this opportunity to get up and walk over to his CD player. He flipped through the CD cases that had been placed in a box next to the player and settled for a collector’s edition of Unkown Pleasures by Joy Division. He popped the disc from its case and placed it in. He’d already listened to the album on repeat at home but every time he heard it, it felt brand new.

As the first few notes of Disorder started up, Sollux sighed and rolled onto his back, “This is a good one.”

Karkat sat back down onto the bed and looked out the full-length windows at the tiny city draped in night and glittered with streetlamps and traffic lights. While he was looking out the window, Sollux glanced up at Karkat, seeing how soft and calm his face was looking at the night sky.

“Sooo uhh, kk, how’s Dave?” Sollux asked, propping himself up on his forearms.

“Not bad; he and Terezi split up a while ago but they’re still cool, which is cool,” Karkat explained, “Why?”

“Nothing,” Sollux laid back down on the bed, “It’s just- nevermind.”

“Woah okay back up, what is it?” Karkat asked, intrigued.

“No it’s nothing, forget about it,” Sollux said, waving his hand.

“Nope, I’m stomping on the brakes and you’re gonna tell me what the FUCK you’re on about,” Karkat said leaning in to him.

“Ugh okay well,” Sollux sighed, “It’s just that- well I see you around him all the time and everything.”

“Yeah?” Karkat said, “And?”

“Well you know how you two talk and all,” Sollux looked anywhere in the room besides Karkat.

“And?” Karkat pressed him, “Get to the fucking point!”

“Well aren’t you- y’know” Sollux kept tripping on his words.

“Spit it out, Captor!”

“Do you... like him?” Sollux asked in a small voice.

“Oh my fucking god,” Karkat groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes and laughing, “After waiting a fucking eternity, you decide to become the most elementary,IMMATURE asswipe I’ve ever had the misfortune of talking to. Great fucking job Sollux, I think that’s officially the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”

“JESUS CHRIST, stop trying to avoid the question and answer me for fucks sake,” Sollux said, irritated.

Karkat was caught off guard, “Uh what?”

“Do. You. Like. Him,” Sollux announciated.

“Uhh I uh-“ Karkat coughed into his fist, “I don’t- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sollux smirked, “I knew it.”

“I don’t! That’s- I never even- You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Oh my god, this is adorable,” Sollux started giggling.

“Shut up, Captor,” Karkat warned.

“No way, this is hilarious,” Sollux laughed at Karkat’s flushed face.

“You’re fucking dead,” Karkat pounced on the four eyed freak and smothered his face with a pillow in an effort to make him stop laughing.

Sollux tried to throw him off, but Karkat was a lot heavier than him and he planted himself firmly on his chest, “You fucking gremlin, I can’t breathe!”

“If you can talk, you can breathe!” Karkat said smothering his face further into the pillow, while Sollux scrambled to move or pull the pillow off. Eventually, Sollux was able to kick Karkat’s back with his knee and Karkat was caught off guard long enough for him to slip out from under him. Sollux grabbed another pillow and with a loud THWUNK, knocked Karkat off the bed.

Karkat sat up on the wooden floor and rubbed his cheek, “Okay maybe I deserved that.”

“You think?” Sollux said, still trying to catch his breath.

“Okay, enough of this stupid boy-talk and pillowfight nonsense,” Karkat said, getting to his feet, “Let’s go play Mario Kart, like men.”

“Agreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy, Sollux is absolutely a bit jealous about the whole Dave/Karkat thing and he has no idea how to feel about it.


	8. Paper Ships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I found the map to your maps  
> I lost the shores for you  
> But now I'll never get back  
> 'Cause I'm a ghost ship on the blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait a few days to post this but I had a rough day so here it is- plus it’s pretty short and uneventful anyway
> 
> also: ya boy figured out how to italicize

 

Sunday 10:59 a.m.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIING_

The shrill beeping of the telephone woke Sollux up from where he slept, passed out on the couch next to Karkat. They had played video games until they'd fallen asleep, side by side, with Karkat drooling a little bit on the sleeve of his shirt. The light of the TV screen burned into his eyes, the blinking GAME OVER screen flashing over and over. 

With a lazy hand, Sollux reached around the end table to grab onto the phone without waking Karkat up, holding it up to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked, still groggy.

"Sollux!" Tavros's voice came over the reciever, "Good Morning!"

"Yeah," Sollux rubbed his eyes, "What's up?"

"Oh it's nothing but..." Tavros stuttered, "Well me and Aradia and Nepeta were supposed to have breakfast together today and well, it's been nearly two hours and she hasn't shown up. So I tried calling her house a few times but she didn't pick up... Do you know where she is?... Sollux?... _Sollux are you there?"_

The receiver fell out of his hand. He shot up from the couch and Karkat's face fell on the armrest. He grabbed his jacket from the rack and ran out the front door.

Sollux drove to Aradia's house, speeding well over the limit and barely stopping for traffic signs. He screeched to a halt in front of her porch, slamming the car door as raced up the steps. 

"Aradia?" Sollux yelled as he threw open the door, " _Aradia, where are you?_ " He tore through the house, looking in every corner of the shack before he ran out the screen door at the back of the house. He charged out into the forest, repeating her name over and over again, " _Aradia! Aradia!"_

 

 

Karkat woke up to the sound of crunching coming from right beside him. He opened his eyes to see Mituna sitting on the couch, munching on a spoonful of Honeycomb cereal and watching a rerun of The Ren & Stimpy Show. Mituna was staring at him while guiding another spoonful to his mouth.

"Uh... good morning," Karkat stared bewilderedly back at him, "What time is it?"

"Almost one o'clock," Mituna replied, slurping on the milk in the spoon.

" _Jesus_ ," Karkat sat up and looked around the living room, "Where's Sollux?"

Mituna finished chewing before answering in his grating, nasally voice (not unlike how Sollux spoke), "He ran out a while ago."

"Shit..." Karkat sighed. He knew he should run after him but without a car and an idea of where he might be, he was probably stuck here until he got back. He also realized he'd completely forgotten to call Dave last night.

"You wanna play Mortal Kombat with me?" Mituna asked hopefully.

Karkat smiled, "Yeah, sure."

Mituna grinned, showing off his crooked teeth barred in red and blue colored braces.

 

 

 

It was nearly three before Sollux came back into the apartment, exhausted and out of breath. He found the two leaning close to the TV, smashing buttons on their controllers, paying him no mind.

"Karkat," Sollux said, trying to get his attention.

Karkat looked up at him and paused the game, causing Mituna to cry out, " _Hey, what'd you do that for?"_

"What's up man, you okay?" Karkat stood up to meet him.

Sollux took a moment, trying to catch his breath and to find the words to tell him. He blinked rapidly and searched Karkat's face. 

"What's wrong?" Karkat tried to coax an answer out of him, "Sollux what happened?"

Sollux swallowed and looked down at his mismatched shoes, " _She's gone."_

Karkat lightly gasped and saw a tear fall down from Sollux's glasses. He didn't know what to do next and threw his arms around his waist, burying his face in his chest. Sollux began sniffling and rested his chin on Karkat's head. He started trying to say something, but it was too muffled for Karkat to hear.

“What was that?” He removed himself from his chest.

Sollux was blinking again and clenching and unclenching his jaw, “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.” He kept silently repeating the phrase.

“Sollux, _no_ ,” Karkat held onto his shoulders and spoke in a firm voice, “This isn’t your fault.”

“ _It’s my fault_ ,” He was whispering it over and over again until his voice came out in strangled squeeks.

“Sollux- _hey_ , Sollux, look at me,” He jerked his shoulders, and forced him to look down at him, “ _This is not your fault.”_

“She ran out of the party,” Sollux spoke up, “I could have stopped her. I could have-“

Sollux kept rambling but Karkat attempted to shoosh him and guide him up to his room. This guy could use a nap. Sollux didn’t resist but he walked on shaking legs, using Karkat to help him up the stairs and into his room.

As Karkat sat him on his bed, Sollux immediately stood back up, “I have to go find her!” He tried rushing to the door, but Karkat stood in his path.

“Dude, you just need to rest,” Karkat said, trying to sit him back down, “You’re not going to do any good running around the forest. Listen to me, I’m going to go downstairs and call the sheriff, then I’m gonna make you a cup of tea, okay? After that, I’ve gotta go to work, but I’ll be back later and we can go eat dinner. Can you stay here until I get back?”

Instead of answering, Sollux stared at the wall in front of him, sitting completely still. Karkat wasn’t sure if he heard him but he went ahead and closed the door behind him. He put on the kettle while he called the sheriff and then gave Mituna the number to the video store, for extra measure.

 

 

It was late at night when he finally locked up the video store, flipping the Open sign around. It wasn’t too far of a walk to the Captor’s apartment building. Besides, he definitely wouldn’t call Sollux to pick him up, not in the state he’s in. When he got like this, it was almost like he was a different person. He became this self-depricating, paranoid version of himself, hellbent on proving he was the literal worst person alive, and it made Karkat sick to see him like that. He may pretend to hate Sollux when he became all high and mighty, wiping him out in almost every game he played, but that was the Sollux he’d grown to like; not the self-loathing pile of mush he became when it seemed like his life was falling apart. All he could do at that point is force him to take his meds everyday and go outside more often.

He was about to go into the apartment building when he realized Sollux was already outside, getting into his car.

“Hey, asshole,” Karkat said, mildly annoyed, “Where do you think _you’re_ going?”

Sollux jumped a little, noticing that he was standing in front of him, “KK, I- I can’t just sit around, I’m going to go find her-“

“Oh no the hell you’re not!” Karkat walked around to the passenger’s side and getting in, “We’re going to the diner.”

“KK, I’ll drive you home, but after that-“

“Sollux, don’t be an idiot, you don’t even know where she could have gone,” Karkat reasoned with him, “Besides theres murderers and wolves and shit out there-“

“For _fuck_ sakes KK, there aren’t any murderers in a godamn podunk, backwater mountain town!”

“What about that _thing_ we saw!” Karkat officially lost his cool. His cool was out the window, “That thing you ran over! It’s still out there, what if-“

“ _Oh my fucking god_ you can’t be serious,” Sollux rolled his eyes, “That was a fucking dog or something! A deer maybe!”

“That _thing_ wasn’t a godamn deer, Sollux,” Karkat said, in a clear cutting voice, “I don’t _know_ what that was, but whatever it was, it wasn’t fucking safe, and I don’t want you out in the woods alone.”

“Well thankfully, you’re not the boss of me,” Sollux said, flat and cold, looking right into his eyes, “So, you can either come with me, or you can stay here.”

Karkat sat in thought a moment, choosing the right words to say, “What do you expect to find out there? I mean, do you really think she’s just hanging out in some trees? I called the sheriff and he said he’d do whatever he could to find her.”

“Yeah but they don’t _know_ her like I do,” Sollux shifted in his seat, a lot calmer than he was before, “Sometimes, she liked to go explore anandoned buildings and places like that. She liked listening to how silent it was. Maybe she just got lost out there.”

"So what, you're gonna go poking round a bunch of broken down buildings in the dark looking for her?"

" _Karkat_ ," Sollux's voice became desperate, "I don't know what else to do. If you can think of a better place to look, let me know, but until then, let me do what I need to do."

Karkat sat looking at him. Something in him told him to stop him now while he was ahead, but there was another part of him that believed in him. Something about Sollux made him want to follow him. 

"Okay," Karkat buckled his seatbelt, "Let's go."

"Oh, you need me to drive you home?" Sollux asked, a little surprised, putting the car in neutral.

"No, I'm coming with you," Karkat said, "I don't need you getting lost out there too."

Sollux stared at Karkat for a moment in amazement. He drove out onto the street, the engine echoing in the evening air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one day ill learn how to end chapters in a clear way instead of just getting lazy and saying “yup thats it, vroom vroom”
> 
> shits about to go DOWN
> 
> also: that bit where sollux is all “let me do what i need to do” was 100% me thinking abt that one tyler the creator vine where hes making waffles


	9. Black Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've fallen barefoot past the treeline  
> Peeping boned-eyed, birches sway  
> And a thousand whitefish floating belly up  
> In the spirit that I crave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one picks up from the previous chapter.
> 
> also, a little bit o creepy music for ur soul: 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/the-prince-of-time/playlist/6cClXbB6oOwp1z4bIFfOx0?si=LI_waxh4RhyTCgUCyogkyg

“So... Do you know where the hell we’re going?”

Karkat fiddled around with Sollux’s tiny briefcase he kept in the compartment on the passenger’s side of the car. It was metal and had a little number code dial that you had to flip around to enter the password. He didn’t really know why he had a password on it - it was just where he kept his old tapes and receipts and junk, but Karkat kept absent mindedly scrolling through numbers.

“Well, when I went to see if Aradia was home this morning, I picked up her little journal. She wrote down a lot of notes about the abandoned places she’d been and places she wanted to go and what not,” Sollux took out a pocket sized notebook and handed it to Karkat. There was a pretty long list with names of buildings and houses and addresses, some crossed out or circled. Sollux kept one hand on the steering wheel and, with the other, pointed out a circled address towards the top of the list, “That’s where we’re going.”

“1257 Peekskill Road,” Karkat read aloud, “What is it?”

“Well while you were at work, I did a little research,” Sollux explained, “It’s an old abandoned mansion I guess, made back in the 1800s. The family lost the house and it was given back to the city to renovate into some sort of library... but that fell through, apparantly.”

“Geez,” Karkat said.

“Have I ever taken you with me when Aradia and I go exploring?” Sollux asked.

“Uh... no?” Karkat replied.

“Oh man,” Sollux smirked, “This’ll be fun.”

Karkat did not like the grin that cracked Sollux’s face.

 

They drove past foggy white streetlamps, the road curving upwards into one of the hills that surrounded the little town. The more wealthy folks lived up in the hills, which meant there weren’t too many living there. Karkat had only been up the hills a few times for one of Feferi’s birthday parties. The particular neighborhood they were driving through right now, however, didn’t even look like a neighborhood; there were fields, fences, and rows of trees, but beyond that, no houses.

Not until they’d pulled up to the very top did they see a large, brick, Victorian mansion. It seemed so delicately crafted, and yet, in total disrepair. Sollux drove along the gravel driveway up to where the road circled around an empty fountain. Sollux parked and they sat in the dark car, just staring up at the gargantuan house. Something about it looming down on them really twisted Karkat’s guts.

“Oh, I brought these too,” Sollux grabbed his bag from the backseat and took out what looked like two half gas masks.

“What the fuck are these,” Karkat picked one up by the string, looking disgusted.

“Gas masks,” Sollux butchered the words with his lisp.

“I _know_ what they are, asswipe,” Karkat rolled his eyes, “Why the fuck do we need them?”

“Well, it’s not safe to go into an abandoned building when there could be toxic-“ Karkat clamped a hand on his mouth.

“Okay, nevermind, I’ve heard enough, whatever,” Karkat pulled the mask around his neck.

“I know it’s a little weird,” Sollux was adjusting the straps on his, “I remember I thought it was so stupid the first time AA made me wear one... But it really is smart.”

They got out of the car, Sollux taking the flashlight and lighting the way up the front steps. The door was already opened and hanging off its hinges. They crept right through into an enormous entrance hall with two sets of staircases leading up to the second floor. The walls and floors were decorated with graffiti and the ancient wallpaper peeled off onto the ground like molted skin. Above them, a giant glass chandelier hang, most of its pieces missing, shattered on the moldy tiled floor.

“Holy shit,” Sollux said, the mask muffling his words, and pointed up, “This one’s in such a good condition. AA will flip when she sees this-“ Sollux trailed of with his sentence, kind of regretting bringing her up again.

Karkat stuck out his hand to hang onto his shoulder, “Well let’s hope she doesn’t try stealing it to add to her weird hoard of junk.”

Sollux nodded and gave a weak smile, but it was lost behind the mask.

Entering into what appeared to be a kitchen, Sollux shone the flashlight onto all the doorless cabinets and the absence of pots or pans.

“Hey,” Karkat said, moving over to a chute built into the wall, “What is this?”

Sollux stepped closer and lit up the dark shaft traveling up to the second story, “A dumbwaiter maybe?”

They moved through into a large dining room, tall, cracked and foggy windows showing the overgrown fields that surrounded the house. A low whistle sounded as wind blew through broken segments of glass. Chairs were smashed and splintered into piles of wood on the green carpeted ground.

“Must’ve stolen the table,” Sollux remarked as there was clearly no table.

They made their way into the living room- although it could hardly be called that. The only sign of life shown through a great brick fireplace in the center of the wall. Besides that, there was only dust and rubble littering the wooden floor.

“Sollux?” Karkat stopped moving, looking up, “Did you hear that?”

Sollux had heard it too. Muffled movement and creaking noise came from above. It stopped as soon as it started but it felt like the sounds were reverberating through his head.

“It’s just the house settling,” Sollux assured him, “Or rats.”

“Ugh, gross!” Karkat nudged Sollux’s shoulder, “Don’t even joke about that!”

Sollux smirked behind his mask and kept moving forward, but Karkat still didn’t trust the noises he’d heard, rat or otherwise.

They came to a rusted old door that scratched metal when Sollux opened it. They appeared in a decrepit green house, which was still humid despite most of the cloudy windows being shattered. Flora grew out of every corner of the long room, creeping through windows and lacing the ground with dead vines and twine. Sollux stuck out his hand to touch one of the leaves coming from a monstrous bush but Karkat grabbed his wrist and jerked him back in time.

“Poison ivy,” Karkat told him, “Don’t even go messing with that stuff, dude.”

“Woah,” Sollux breathed out, “How can you tell?”

“My dad forced me into boy scouts for years,” Karkat put his hands on his hips, “You learn a thing or too when little Billy Thatcher comes crying back to your tent with a rashy ass because he tried using a leaf to wipe.”

“Oh my god,” Sollux giggled as they left the green house.

They climbed the stairs to the second story and found two hallways going each direction, holding door after door of bedrooms.

“God this place is huge,” Karkat remarked, opening the door to one room. It was barren except for a small rusted radiator stuck underneath a bay window that looked over stretches of forest.

Most of the other rooms were exact copies of this one, so they headed up another set of stairs found at the end of the coridor, circling up into another hallway with withered wood floors. They peeked into the only door finding a giant library, shelves reaching the ceiling.

”So this is the library the website was talking about,” Sollux shone his light onto the empty shelves searching for any books, finding none. 

“Not much of a library,” Karkat huffed, “A pretty good dust museum.”

As they exited the library and reached the end of the corridor they found a chord coming from the ceiling.

“This must be the staircase to the attic,” Sollux said, pulling the string which opened a door above them, extending the most rickety ladder imagineable.

“Uhh, pass,” Karkat said, “I am _not_ going up that thing.”

“Oh come on KK, where’s your sense of adventure?” Sollux teased.

“Have you forgotten why we’re here?” Karkat scrunched up his nose, “We need to find Aradia and that’s it, I doubt she’s going to be in the attic of some million year old mansion. We should go, it’s already pretty late.”

“How do you know she not just sleeping up here?” Sollux said, “Come on we’ll just go up for a quick look and then we can go.”

Karkat crossed his arms, trying to debate in his mind how stupid this all was. The floor could collapse on them up there, they could be devoured by rats and spiders, and yet Karkat decided to chuck reason out the window as he followed Sollux up the ladder.

It was pitch black save for the curved windows letting the moonlight in, and Sollux’s flashlight shining on the dirt ridden floor. It was probably the biggest attic Karkat had ever been in, it could barely be called an attic. It was more like one giant room without any dividing walls. But there weren’t any rats, the floor didn’t fail beneath them, and sadly, Aradia was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Sollux found a small door on one end of the room, padlocked and containing two golden apartment numbers, crafted onto the door.

66

Sollux tried opening the door anyways, but of course it wouldn’t budge. He figured some squatter must live there and he didn’t really want to know who, so he walked back to where Karkat was looking out of one of the windows, which were nearly as tall as him.

“Look at that old pool,” Karkat pointed out at the back patio which descended into stairs leading to the pool in question. It was surrounded by white brick and the bottom was filled with a mucky dark green, nearly black sludge, presumably the culmination of years of rain water, chlorine, and mud.

“How ‘bout a swim, KK,” Sollux joked, turning away from the window.

“No, I mean, just look,” Karkat became deadly serious, turning to Sollux with wide eyes.

“What? What is it?” Sollux strained his eyes looking hard. Was it his eyes playing a trick on him or was there something moving in the sludge, something dark-

Sollux felt something grab his shoulders, and he yelped.

“Hah! Oh my god, I got you so fucking good, you should have seen your face oh my god!” Karkat cackled like a madman, clutching his sides.

“KK.”

“ _Oh what? what is it_?” Karkat mocked Sollux’s voice, “That was fucking priceless, coming here was worth it just for _that_!”

“ _Karkat_!” Sollux snapped.

“What?” Karkat finally looked at where Sollux was frozen, staring out the window.

And there it was. The perfect reason for Karkat to run right out of the house.

A figure had emerged from the pool of muck, standing just as still as Sollux. Staring right at them.

Karkat’s heart beat right out of his chest, “Oh, _fuck_ that!”

Karkat grabbed Sollux and headed for the ladder, not wasting any time. They rushed down flights of stairs, and Karkat swore he heard the odd sound of an old scratchy record being played from the attic. They practically flew out of the house, racing for the car, Sollux scrambling to grab his keys.

“Hurry up!” Karkat screamed as Sollux clicked the keys into the ignition trying and failing for the car’s engine to start.

“I’m fucking trying!” Sollux yelled back, turning the key back and forth. Finally, the car sputtered to life and Sollux slammed on the gas, speeding down the hill, past the hedges and fences and lamp posts.

The two threw off their masks, breathing hard into the freezing car, making the glass fog up around them.

And then, Karkat started laughing again. Giggling quietly to himself at first and then cackling as much as he did before. Sollux was still uneasy but seeing his best friend laugh, he started to chuckle as well. As their laughter died down and the windows cleared up, they were already nearing the forest back to Karkat’s house.

“What _was_ that thing?” Karkat asked aloud.

“Probably a squatter or something,” Sollux guessed, “Must be homeless.”

“But why would a homeless person lay around in three feet of green sludge?” Karkat asked, “That’s not fucking normal.”

“Maybe trying to wash off?” Sollux proposed, but Karkat shot him a look, “You never know, maybe they have something wrong with them.”

“Do you think...” Karkat trailed off, “What if it’s the thing we hit.”

“Yeah,” Sollux giggled, “We ran over the creature from the black lagoon, it makes _perfect_ sense!”

“I’m being serious.”

“No, you’re being stupid... and scared,” Sollux said.

“I am _not_ -!”

“It’s okay, I am too,” Sollux cut him off, “All this stuff makes me think of the kind of horror movies AA used to make me watch. She must have like a collection of books on all that paranormal, cryptid crap. If she was here she’d probably have the time of her life running after- whatever the hell it is we hit... but the truth is it was probably just some wolf.”

“It _wasn’t_ a fucking wolf, Sollux” Karkat insisted, “How many times-“

“What we can’t do is jump to conclusions and freak out over something that is probably just nothing,” Sollux said, “We need to focus on AA right now, and that’s it.”

Karkat bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from saying anything else. He knew Sollux was right, but he wouldn’t let him have that satisfaction.

By the time Sollux dropped him off at his house, it was already close to the witching hour and the silence of the woods surrounding his house was deafening. It was at times like these that he wished he had some godamn neighbors that weren’t blocks away.

“So I was thinking we could go to the next place on the list, tomorrow-“

“ _Wait what_?,” Karkat cut him off, “You want to go out, _again_? Right after _that_?”

“Nobody _else_ seems to be up all night looking for her,” Sollux remarked, “I’ve barely even seen the sherrif’s patrol car out.”

“I know but-“

“The truth is, if AA is going to be found, _I’m_ the one who has to do it,” Sollux looked up at Karkat from his window, Karkat standing on the curb.

“ _God_ don’t be such a fucking hero,” Karkat said, “You can’t fit into the tights.”

“ _KK_ , I’m serious,” Sollux furrowed his brows and spoke in a cold voice, “I know you don’t really _care_ if she gets found or not-“

“Hey! Don’t _ever_ try pulling that shit on me,” Karkat said bitterly, “I was her friend before she even _knew_ you so don’t even go there.”

A silence fell on them.

“Look I know you’re worried, I get it, I am too, but you can’t be stupid about these things. I mean, imagine if that guy in the water was dangerous or something?” Karkat rubbed his neck, “I just... don’t want to see you end up missing too, okay? Promise me you aren’t gonna be all superhero and do something stupid?”

Sollux grumbled something out.

“What was that?”

“ _Okay_ ” Sollux promised.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Karkat waved a goodbye.

“Night,” Sollux raised a hand.

 

Karkat was just glad to be back in his cozy home. He spent the rest of the night cuddled up with his cat, falling asleep on the lumpy couch, the TV casting light onto his drooling face as it played an old recorded VHS tape of an episode of Dallas on loop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Should I Stay or Should I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you say that you are mine  
> I'll be here 'til the end of time  
> So you got to let me know  
> Should I stay or should I go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i dont know if i named the record store Scratch Records or not in other chapters- but for the record (no pun intended) from here on out Scratch Records is where Dave works.
> 
> so im no expert on how businesses work, but basically The Video Store is run by Jack and Karkat is like one of two employees there and the place is open at pretty much random ass times but like basically theres only one person working at a time for some reason.... idk dont look at me
> 
> also yes planet pizza is the pizzaria in toy story- i have no imagination and also i LOVE that place.

 

Monday 11:45 a.m.

 

Karkat flipped through the pages of the magazine he’d already read about a dozen times and breathed out a sigh. It was a slow day at The Video Store - as per usual. He spun around in his chair, occasionally glancing at the movie he’d put on the giant VCR in the back of the store. Okay, When Harry met Sally was a good movie, no- a _great_ movie, but even _he_ could get pretty tired of hearing Sally fake an orgasm in a diner for the eleventh fucking time.

 

He grabbed one of the candy bars from the shelf on the counter and ripped it open, biting into it with unadulterated boredom. His stomach growled; he hadn’t had time to make breakfast as he was almost late to work this morning from oversleeping. Maybe staying up late and exploring abandoned mansions wasn’t the best idea when you have work bright and early the next morning. He wondered if eating the entire box of candy would constitute as an acceptable meal.

 

As he pondered his calorie intake, the bell rang out in the shop, signalling a customer walking through the store. It was Dave. It wasn’t uncommon for him to drop by as Scratch Records was only a block away.

 

“Hey dude,” Dave walked over to the counter, noticing the movie on the screen, “Haven’t you already seen this like a hundred times already?”

 

“ _Tell me about it,_ ” Karkat rolled his eyes.

 

“Well are you up for getting lunch?” Dave asked, “I only have an hour between shifts today and I kinda need to talk to you about something.”

 

Karkat could use something to relieve his boredom, “Only if I get to choose where we go.”

 

“Like you don’t already get to choose every godamn time?” Dave raised his eyebrow over his aviators.

 

 

 

Karkat turned off the TV and locked up the store, flipping the closed sign around. They rarely ever went anywhere out of the ordinary, it was usually either between pizza and burgers, and if Karkat was choosing, it was always pizza. They walked down the street towards a large space themed restaurant, Pizza Planet, Karkat’s favorite.

 

“Why do you like kiddie food so much?” Dave asked, squinting down as he opened the door for him, a wave of synth music and the scent grease hitting him.

 

“ _First of all,_ it’s not kiddie food, it is _gourmet Italian cuisine_ , the finest pizza around. Second- it’s fucking _amazing_ and comes with dessert at a reasonable price,” Karkat chose the booth to sit at- one shaped to look like a UFO. After a waitress took their order, Karkat began to doodle on one of the kids menus he had snatched from the front desk. Dave was staring at him blankly.

 

“What do you want to do... for the rest of your life?” Dave asked out of the blue.

 

“Is this a trick question Strider?” Karkat squinted at the blonde, “Are you trying to get me to help fund your dumb movie again? It’s not gonna work, I’m fuckin’ broke.”

 

“Well then it’s a good thing a producer from L.A. already contacted me about the script,” Dave said, as nonchalantly as possible, taking a sip from his soda.

 

“ _Yeah right_ , Strider,” Karkat laughed, “The only person willing to pay for your movie is Helen Keller.”

 

Dave took out a folded up paper from his pocket, sliding it over the table. Karkat furrowed his brows in confusion, still doubtful. He unfolded the paper, flicking his eyes over the letter.

 

“You’re fucking serious,” Karkat looked back at Dave, his eyes wide. Dave nodded, showing the slightest hint of a smile, “Dude this is amazing, this is incredible! Congratu-fuckin’-lations! Honestly, I had no hope for you at all - like I thought you’d end up a washed up screenwriter at forty with no friends but now maybe you’ll be a decent screenwriter at forty with no friends. Dave, I’m fucking _proud_ of you.”

 

“Wow, thanks for the compliments,” Dave said, probably rolling his eyes behind his shades.

 

“So, how much did you get for the script?” Karkat asked eagerly, “I should get a cut since like- I _basically_ inspired your entire idea.”

 

“Oh wait- did you not read the letter?” Dave asked, “I’m not gonna get paid, not till the movie’s done filming.”

 

“Wait but I thought you sold the producer the script?” Karkat sat, confused.

 

“No, dude he- he wants me to direct it too. I’m gonna to have to goto the west coast and film it all - after all the casting and planning and shit or whatever of course,” Dave explained.

 

“Wait wait wait- so... you’re... _leaving_?” Karkat felt lost.

 

“Well, not yet,” Dave said, “My plane leaves on Friday-“

 

“ _Friday_? What the fuck, when did you get this letter?” Karkat was infuriated.

 

“Just yesterday,” Dave replied, “You’re probably the first person I told - after Dirk and Roxy of course. I have’t even called John yet-“

 

“How long until you’re back?” Karkat asked incredulously.

 

“Uh... I don’t know it could take months... I dunno a year maybe?”

 

“A _year_?” Karkat lost it.

 

“I’ll probably visit from time to time if I can... and uh... well, Karkat I was kind of wondering-...” Dave trailed off, looking away.

 

“What?” Karkat crossed his arms.

 

“Would you want to... would you want to come with me? Like as my co-director or something? You’ve watched as many movies as I have and I know you don’t like Bro and Jeff as much as I do but- let’s be honest you could probably flip anything around and make it amazing. I bet if you put your mind to it and we worked together-“ Dave trailed off in his rambling, “I just know you’d be _perfect_ for it... I don’t know if I can do this alone.”

 

“ _Dave- I_ ”

 

“Greetings space rangers! I have two orders of the paradoxical pepperoni and olive pizza and a flying saucer of french fries!” The waitress said cheerfully, setting down two plates in front of them before walking off “Enjoy!”

 

The two looked briefly at a loss for words, trying to remember where they were.

 

“Come on, man,” Dave pleaded, “I mean, do you _really_ wanna spend the rest of your life in this crummy podunk town? You’re always complaining about it and now you finally have the chance to get out of here.”

 

Karkat was staring at his pizza, suddenly not hungry anymore.

 

Dave continued, “John and Jade are leaving in a month for college. Rose and Kanaya are thinking of moving to France or some shit. Your brother left a while ago too. Hell, even your dad left this place-“

 

“ _Don’t_ \- don’t talk about my dad,” Karkat said, pinching the bridge of his nose, scrunching his face.

 

“Sorry... I- I just,” Dave trailed off again, “Everyone’s leaving y’know. I just feel like... like I want to just grab everybody and bring them all back together or something... I don’t know, that sounds stupid-“

 

“No I know what you mean,” Karkat looked sympathetically up at him, “But I just can’t get up and leave too- that might be even worse... plus if this is where our - I don’t know- our base or whatever-you-call-it, then it’s better to stay here, because sooner or later they’ll all come back.”

 

“I know... I just... _fuck_ \- I’m gonna  _miss_ you,” Dave looked right at him.

 

Karkat was definitely not blushing. He did not know how to respond to him besides staring back, awestruck.

 

“Listen can you... at least think about it?” Dave said, “I sincerely think this job was made for you, you’d get to boss people around and shout at them through a megaphone all you want. If that isn’t what you want to do in life, then I don’t know what is.”

 

“You make a very tempting offer, Strider,” Karkat pointed a french fry in his direction, “I’ll think about it, okay? It’s just... _a lot_ ,” He bit down on the fry.

 

 

 

They kept on talking and eating, until Dave checked his watch, realizing he was late for the end of his break, “ _Shit_!”

 

On the walk back, right before they went their seperate ways to their stores, Dave stopped Karkat and asked if they could meet up at the movie theater later, after their shifts were over.

 

Karkat blinked up at him, “Is this... is that... Are you asking me on a _date_?”

 

Dave couldn’t help but laugh a bit at Karkat’s confused face, “I’ll meet you at five over there, okay?”

 

Karkat still didn’t know what the answer was, but nodded as Dave turned towards the record store. Karkat kept trying to feel his face to see if his blush had gone away yet, as he re-opened the video store, turning on When Harry Met Sally again, this time, starting to actually watch with some sort of eagerness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo dramatic
> 
> also- poor karkat cant tell when people are flirting with him :(


	11. Time After Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're lost you can look--and you will find me  
> Time after time  
> If you fall I will catch you--I'll be waiting   
> Time after time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY- its been awhile since ive updated and this chapter is so short. im so dang busy with the end of the school year but i promise ill try to pick it up more oftern. also ive been confused with which direction i want this fic to go and so im also taking time to flesh everything out bleegh
> 
> Oh nooooo rain makes everything MOODY

Monday 5:15 p.m.

 

Karkat stood outside the Fox Theater, leaning against one of those lit up glass cases containing a movie poster for Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, resting his head right underneath Jason’s mask. He was glad he’d taken shade underneath the awning because it had just started raining, causing the evening lights to blur and fade. He’d been waiting for fifteen minutes already and Dave still wasn’t showing up. He kept checking his watch, saying to himself he’d just wait five more minutes, just five more minutes... just five more minutes. _God, did that make him desperate?_ He sure hoped it didn’t, because he would have probably waited all night. He would have waited in the downpour, watching the couples walk into the theater every so often. It wasn’t too busy with it being a Monday and all.

 

He even figured out what movie they were going to see. It was another amazing romantic comedy, Say Anything. Yes, he’d already seen it last week because John said he could give him a discount if he came at midnight, but godamn if that one scene where John Cusack held the boombox outside Diane’s window didn’t make Karkat bawl his eyes out.

 

Karkat checked his watch again. Another five minutes.

 

Karkat was thinking of just buying a ticket and seeing the damn movie himself. If Dave showed up in the theater later, so be it, but the movie was about to start and he’s be damned if he didn’t buy a giant box of popcorn and cry in the theater by himself.

 

He turned around to go up to the booth when he heard someone familiar running up to him, “KK, I’ve been looking _forever_ for you!”

 

Sollux sprinted up to him, nearly slipping in a puddle, carrying a large black umbrella.

 

“Why the hell have you been doing that?” Karkat crossed his arms in his giant coat, officially bummed out.

 

“KK, you’re never gonna believe this it’s fucking crazy, I can’t even begin to- ... Wait... what are you doing here all by yourself?” Sollux looked around in the rain, “Are you waiting for somebody?”

 

Karkat stared at the ground, too embarrassed and bitter to talk. Realization hit Sollux’s face and he felt bad for asking, “When’s he supposed to be here?”

 

Karkat sighed, not looking at him, “Twenty minutes ago.”

 

“Oh...” Sollux tried to look where Karkat was looking, the rain blending the colors of all of the neon signs hung in the windows, “Can I wait with you till he gets here?”

 

Karkat finally looked up at him, trying to keep a sad smile from crossing his face, “Ok.”

 

And so they stood there, waiting for somebody who wasn’t going to come. Sollux kept occasionally looking over at Karkat before quickly looking away so he wouldn’t notice (he noticed).

 

“God damn it,” Karkat said, staring at his watch for the millionth time, “I’m fucking pathetic aren’t I?”

 

“Huh? What?” Sollux was caught off guard, “No way. I mean _sure_ you’re pretty hopeless at most things and incompetent in every way but no you’re not _pathetic_.”

 

“Can we just go?” Karkat didn’t even look at him, he just began to walk away from his spot, lifting his hood to shield him from the rain, “Please?”

 

“Oh... I’m sorry about-“

 

“It’s fine,” Karkat looked at his shoes, “It’s no big deal. So why are you stalking me, again?”

 

“I’m not- I wasn’t- I just saw you on the street and- Dude you’re never gonna believe this,” He suddenly got very excited again, “I’m fucking- I don’t even know how to-!“

 

“Jesus Captor spit it out-“

 

_“I know where she is.”_

 

 

 

The two ditched the movie theater, walking briskly, huddling under Sollux’s umbrella as he rambled on, “So I did some exploring this morning and-“

 

“Sollux what the fuck did I just say about going off alone!” Karkat shoved Sollux.

 

“I know I know, but honestly that was your fault for believing I’d follow anything you’d say,” Sollux was rummaging his raincoat pockets looking for something, finally pulling out a pamphlet that looked about a million years old, “Look at this shit.”

 

Karkat took the brochure, featuring large green letters spelling out “ _Curious Cryptids Museum_ ”. There were faded hand drawn pictures showing long lost animals, extinct or otherwise non-existant; a giant bigfoot, a nessie in an aquarium, a mothman who shook people’s hands-

 

“Okay, what the fuck is this supposed to mean?” Karkat handed the pamphlet back to him.

 

“Don’t you get it? She must’ve been trying to figure out what all the weird things we’ve been seeing were!” Sollux had a manic look in his eye.

 

Karkat squinted back at him, “Wait what do you mean? So she _knew_ about the thing we hit, and she decided to- _what?_ Go off into the woods and find it?”

 

“Well...” Sollux trailed off, looking away, “It’s a little more than that...”

 

“Then please,” Karkat pushed Sollux to the side of the sidewalk, edging him under an awning, “ _Elaborate_.”

 

“ _Well_ , you know how I told you she had been saying weird things for a while before she... ran out of the party and went awol?” Sollux gripped the umbrella handle tighter.

 

“ _Uh-huh_?,” Karkat dragged out.

 

“Well, she said she had been... _seeing_ things?” Sollux could tell from Karkat’s face, he was furious, “ _Weird_ things.”

 

“ _What kind of weird things_?” Karkat announciated every single syllable.

 

“... Monsters... cryptids... ghosts...?” Sollux’s voice was barely squeeked out over the rain, “I-I don’t know!”

 

“You mean she _knew_ about all this shit?” Karkat gestured with his hands, “Did you tell her about the thing we ran over?”

 

Sollux looked ashamed, “I didn’t know what else to talk about... But then she started yelling at me” Sollux couldn’t see Karkat anymore, “She wanted to find out what it was... or- no, she wanted to prove she wasn’t _crazy_. You should have seen her it was... scary.”

 

“So... she left and she ran after the thing,” Karkat was pacing now, “You think she’s gone to this museum ‘cause she- _what_?- thinks it came from there?”

 

“I know just as much as you do,” Sollux looked back at him, “I’m saying it’s better than waiting around for her to come back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again sorry yeah its short and it ends in a reallly weird place whoops but yeah next chapter picks up RIGHT where this one leaves off
> 
> what happened to dave :? it is an mystery B?


	12. Maneater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux and Karkat visit a cryptid museum and find an exhibit a little too lifelike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is super duper late. I had to focus on final exams and then once summer started I had to figure out how to write again.
> 
> Also! If this chapter looks and reads better than any of the other chapters its cuz I had it beta read by cathugger6 and they helped so much :,) 
> 
> Also yeah I have no idea how to describe what a funicular is but I did my best.

  
Karkat found himself roped back into the mystery, sitting next to Sollux as they drove up a windy road on the mountain to where the map said the museum was located. The rain had caused whatever snow laid on the ground to turn into a slush, melting under the tires of the car. Karkat turned the radio to the only channel that seemed to work: a country station that was currently playing back to back Hank Williams songs over the crackling static. The constant sound of the windshield wipers furiously wiping the rain off lulled Karkat into a trance, staring into the ripples of water until Sollux broke the silence.   
  
“So, why didn’t he show up?” Sollux cleared his throat.   
  
Karkat sighed, “I don’t know.”   
  
“Would you tell me if you knew?” Sollux questioned.   
  
“What the fuck kind of question is that?” Karkat turned to face him.   
  
“I just thought he was supposed to be mister perfect,” Sollux shrugged his shoulders.   
  
“What the hell is  _ that _ supposed to mean?” Karkat squinted at him.   
  
“Nothing, nothing,” Sollux’s voice was pitched higher than usual.   
  
Karkat waited a few moments of glaring at him before going back to looking out the window, “He’s not perfect... Something must’ve come up.”   
  
“He could’ve said something at least,” Sollux was quick to reply.   
  
“Okay sure, but you never know, maybe he wasn’t near a phone,” Karkat reasoned.

  
“Of course,” Sollux said, incredibly facetious.   
  
Karkat hated his tone but he really wasn’t in the mood to argue.    
  
Before he knew it, Sollux slammed on the brakes in front of a small wooden A-frame shack. The sign out front read “ _ Curiosity Peak’s Fun-icular _ !” with a faded picture of a family smiling and waving, sitting in an ascending cable car.

 

“Hey Sollux,” Karkat said, “What the fuck is a funicular.”

 

“It’s like a- uh… It’s like a little train thing that goes up mountains,” Sollux was having trouble explaining it, “But it uses like a little cable pulley system to go up. It’s cool.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Karkat was only half-listening.

  
Sollux turned the car off and hopped out, pulling his jacket over his head to shield himself from the rain **,** and walked up to the ticket booth that was fixed into the side of the building. Karkat followed close behind with the umbrella and flashlight **,** and watched Sollux climb over the counter. Karkat chucked the flashlight to Sollux and slid over the counter, nearly slipping due to the rain water.   
  


Karkat looked around the nearly empty room, “Where’s all the cryptid junk? I thought this used to be a museum?”

 

“This is just the building for the funicular,” Sollux said, pointing to a map on the wall, showing the small YOU ARE HERE dot on a drawing of the shack that had a funicular going up to the top of the mountain which had a tiny museum on it, “We take the cable cars up to the top.”   
  
“Sollux I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but none of this garbage has been used in ten years. If you expect any of the cable cars to actually work, you might need your head examined.”   
  
“Well I don’t know about you,” Sollux mumbled, walking out the back door leading to a porch which held the funicular lift, “But I don’t really feel like hiking all the way up that mountain.”

  
Karkat reluctantly followed.   
  
Under the large awning, Sollux found a small podium made up of machinery with buttons **,** levers **,** and stickers warning of electrocution **.** The giant green cable car was parked at the bottom of its track. Dead leaves covered the floor of its interior **,** and interior advertisements for the park had been rendered completely unreadable from water damage **,** but it was otherwise in fairly good condition.   
  
Karkat watched Sollux tinker with the buttons in a seemingly random manner. 

“Do you even know what you’re-?”   
  
He was cut off by the sound of a thousand gears turning and a generator roaring to life. The noise was so loud, Karkat wondered if people could hear it back in town.   
  
“See, it works! What did I tell you!” Sollux grinned **,** moving to get on the bottom car.    
  
“We are in so much goddamn trouble if anybody finds us,” Karkat said, shaking his head and getting on as well.   
  
“They’d have to catch us first,” Sollux nudged him.   
  
“Yeah they’d only have to catch someone who has never exercised a day in his life and an asthmatic, what could go wrong?” Karkat closed the little door behind him just as the car began to shudder forward.   
  
The two watched pine trees pass by them through the glassless window, illuminated only by Sollux’s flashlight. The wind began to pick up the higher they went while rain pounded on the top of the car.    
  
Sollux saw Karkat shivering and chattering his teeth, “Hey man, do you want my coat?”   
  
“What? No I’m fine, I don’t need it,” Karkat gritted out through his teeth.   
  
“It’s okay, I have another jacket underneath,” He said, already removing the coat.   
  
“Are... are you sure?” Karkat asked, even though he really wanted to wear it.   
  
“I’m not even cold,” Sollux helped him into the coat, “See- fits perfectly!”   
  
Karkat looked down as his hands barely made it out of the woolen sleeves, “It really doesn’t, but I think that’s for the best,” He said, blowing into his hands, trying to warm them up.   
  
Without thinking, Sollux reached out to touch his hands, “ _ Jesus _ , you’re freezing!” 

  
“How are _you_ so goddamn warm!? You’re just a stick!” Karkat shouted **,** holding onto his hands, stealing away whatever warmth he had.   
  
Even after the warmth had already subsided and both of their hands were now just lukewarm and clammy, Sollux still held onto Karkat. After a moment or two Karkat coughed a little awkwardly, and Sollux snapped his hands back. 

“Sorry.”   
  
Karkat watched him for a second before muttering back, “It’s okay.”   
  
  


  
The funicular finally came to a stop in front of another porch outside an identical looking A-frame as the one at the bottom, this one looking slightly less shabby in comparison. The two hopped off the car as the motor slowed to a stop, and all was quiet once again, besides the rain and howling wind.    
  
They made their way through the shack, which appeared to hold a lot of tourist trap souvenirs still in reasonable condition. There were bigfoot plushees and chupacabra keychains. Several racks of postcards depicted Nessie laying on a beach with a margarita titled, “ _ It’s five o'clock somewhere! _ ”   
  
“Hey KK, look at this,” Sollux turned to look at him from a rack of sunglasses. He’d put on a giant pair of red tinted goggles, “Look at me, I’m Mothman.”   
  
Karkat sighed, shaking his head, and shined his flashlight on shelves of snowglobes containing miniature ferocious yetis on a mountain peak.

That’s when he noticed the tons of smashed up globes on the floor, piled into broken glass and small wet puddles.   
  
A roll of thunder crashed off in the distance.  
  
“Sollux I think you’d better see this,” the light from the flashlight sparkled on the fake snow and water.  
  
Sollux walked over and upon seeing the snow globes, he crouched down to get a closer look, “Any wild animal could have done this.”  
  
“That’s true but the water hasn’t even been soaked up into the carpet yet,” Karkat stepped into the puddle, “They must’ve been knocked over recently.”  
  
“Wait look!” Sollux suddenly stood up, “There are wet footsteps going this way.”  
  
Sollux followed the small wet splotches with his flashlight leading off towards a hallway.   
  
“C’mon,” Sollux entered the dark hallway, “This probably leads towards the zoo.”  
  
Karkat walked right next to him, so close that their arms brushed against each other. He kept taking glances behind them every so often, not sure what he was looking out for, but not risking the chances of being followed by... god knows what.  
  
The hallway was lined with large glass windows that would have brought in a lot of sunlight, had it not been night, and all they could see out of it was pitch black darkness.  
  
Towards the end of the corridor was a set of turnstiles, probably to traffic visitors. The metal of the bars was rusted over and wouldn’t budge when Sollux tried to turn one, instead giving a harsh screech.  
  
“Guess we’ve got to jump over, again,” Sollux hopped over the bars and then offered his hand out to Karkat to help him over.  
  
“I can do it myself,” Karkat rolled his eyes, hoisting himself over to the other side.  
  
At the end of the hallway, they stepped through two shattered glass doors and entered what looked to be a massive, high ceiling conservatory. A strike of lighting shone through the glass ceiling, illuminating planters filled with trees and bushes. The place reminded Karkat of a mall, with its tacky tiled floors. The air was filled with the sounds of birds ruffling their feathers and squeaking from high up in the trees **,** and rain pattering on the glass.  
  
“Look over here!” Sollux rushed up to a low hanging branch off of a tropical looking tree.   
  
A giant owl was sitting, staring right at them. The flashlight gleamed off of the large red eyes that popped out of its head.   
  
“It’s not moving,” Karkat said, a little creeped out.  
  
“Well I’d hope so, its stuffed,” Sollux replied, tapping the hard plastic eyes.  
  
Karkat sighed in relief, looking at a small sign next to the tree reading, “ _The Devil Bird, or rather, the Ulama, is described in Sri Lankan myth as having the cry of a person being strangled. However, the bird was found to be a real species and was then named the spot bellied owl due to its striking feathers_.”  
  
The two walked to another planter showing a seven foot ape-like being covered in white fur with the head of a goat. The sign showing a black and white picture of a similar beast, turned away from the camera.  
  
“ _The Lake Worth Monster_ ,” Karkat read, _“is a part man, part goat inhabitant of Greer Island in Northern Texas. The creature has been sighted several times in the past 45 years by Tarrant County residents and is known to throw tires and scratch gruesome gashes into the sides of cars. Whether the beast is real or just a rowdy teenager in a mascot uniform is still a mystery_.”  
  
“What do you think?” Sollux asked, jokingly, “Real or fake?”  
  
“Hm...” Karkat pretended to think as he went up to the replica, leaning on its shoulder, “ _Sexy?_ ”  
  
Sollux burst into a snickering laugh as he walked over to the next exhibit.   
  
  
  
They walked around the museum until their legs were tired, looking at all of the failures of cryptozoology. There was the Ozark Howler, a scrappy looking dog with demonic horns; the Pukwudgie, a short troll-like creature with the hair of a porcupine; the Pope Lick monster, a tall humanoid with the head of a goat; the Loveland Frogman, a bipedal frog that walked along the sides of highways. By the time they had read all the little signs, both Sollux and Karkat were yawning and shuffling their feet.   
  
“Alright, that was fun and all but we should probably get home-”  
  
Karkat was cut off, “But we haven’t found Aradia yet,” Sollux pointed out, “She should be here somewhere.”  
  
He kept walking further into the room where there were planters with no signs, flashing his light up into the leaves of the trees.  
  
“Sollux, I think it’s pretty obvious if we haven’t found her yet, she’s not here,” Karkat said in a groggy voice, “C’mon let’s go.”  
  
Sollux was still looking into the planters.   
  
“Sollux, let’s go,” He repeated, sharpening his tone, “She’s not here.”  
  
Sollux shone his flashlight onto another stuffed creature, a sloth-like figure, hanging from the tree with sprawling arms covered in shaggy fur. It only had one large eye that glowed yellow in the moonlight.   
  
“Weird, this one doesn’t have a sign,” Sollux was obviously ignoring Karkat.  
  
“Aradia isn’t here,” Karkat was getting irritated and it showed through his voice. “Not to be rude but I don’t actually _love_ coming to all these creepy abandoned places looking for someone who isn’t even there. There’s no fucking point.”  
  
“But she might have been here!” Sollux turned around. “That’s the point. Besides she may have left something for us to find. Maybe she wants us to find her!”  
  
“Are you even listening to yourself?” Karkat rose his voice, “Do you understand how fucking _crazy_ you sound right now? _God fucking_ \- why am I even still following you around?!”  
  
“Because I-“ Sollux stuttered, “We want to find Aradia. She’s out here somewhere, we just have to find her-“  
  
“ _Not fucking this again_ ,” He sighed, “How many times are we going to go looking for somebody that’s not there? Let me ask you this- has it ever occured to you that she may be, _oh_ ** _,_** _I don’t know_ , dead?!”  
  
Sollux’s eyes opened wide, his face twitching, “ _You take that back_.”  
  
“Why should I? Don’t you think it’s a bit childish to never even think for a second that maybe instead of looking for _her_ , you should be looking for a _body_?” Karkat couldn’t even believe the words he was saying. They just spilled out without him thinking.   
  
“ _Shut up_ ,” Sollux said, his voice shaking. “ _Shut the fuck up._ ”  
  
A silence fell on them.  
  
The rumble of thunder and a strike of lighting broke through and illuminated something horrible.  
  
Karkat shifted his eyes from Sollux to the cryptid sloth that hung on the branch above his head. Only this time, the sloth had a large mouth stretching actoss its belly. Its long thick tongue dangled down from its mouth, sureounded by rows upon rows of sharp jagged teeth. Its arms leaned down to grab Sollux, long gnarled black claws nearly scraping his cheek.  
  
Karkat was paralyzed in fear. He pointed his hand at the creature.  
  
“Stop it, I’m not gonna fall for that,” Sollux wiped his eyes from behind his glasses.  
  
A large glob of drool landed on his shoulder. 

Sollux slowly looked right above him, in terror, at the beast. Its mouth was right next to his face, teeth glinting from his flashlight, which abruptly fell from his hands and clattered to the floor. Drool trailed down right onto his glasses as the creature widened its jaws in anticipation.   
  
The beast snapped its teeth right as Karkat grabbed his hand and ran.   


 

  
They ran through the entire museum, only stopping for air once they got onto the funicular once again (which took a hot second to get started up again, leaving the two screaming at the old piece of machinery before it slowly whirred back to life). They panted and sat on the bench, checking all around them for signs of movement, sadly without the aid of a flashlight.    
  
Karkat pulled out his inhaler from his back pocket, taking a few shaky breaths. He felt exhausted, leaning into his seat, head tilted back.   
  


“ _ What the fuck was that thing _ ?” Sollux’s voice shook as he folded in on himself, gripping his arms tight. 

 

Karkat rested his arm over his eyes, “As per usual: I have no  _ fucking _ clue.”

  
“KK, this isn’t normal,” Sollux said, “I mean, what the hell was it doing there? I don’t even think we  _ get _ sloths on this continent, let alone the cyclops ones with mouths on their stomachs!”

 

“It probably just drank from some toxic waste dump,” Karkat grumbled, “We can just call animal control on it in the morning.”

 

“Uh- no the hell we’re not,” Sollux said, “We’d have to pay like a billion dollar fine for admitting we were trespassing! We can’t even do anything about it.”

 

“Well that’s nothing new,” Karkat finally looked over at him, “We couldn't do anything about that  _ thing _ we ran over-”

 

“It was a dog-”

 

“Sollux, shut your  _ fucking _ mouth; you almost got eaten by a  _ fucking sloth monster! _ ” Karkat was shouting. “That thing  _ wasn’t _ a dog. I don’t even know  _ what _ the thing we saw in the pool back at that mansion was, but it wasn’t human that’s for fucking sure!”

 

Karkat took a deep breath, “I don’t know what’s going on- why all these things are just suddenly happening all at once… I’ve lived here my whole goddamn life and sure this place is weird but for fuck’s sake-! I’ve never been scared before about what’s living out in the woods - something I don’t know about!”

 

Karkat went silent again fighting back tears.

 

Over the creaking of the funicular, the sounds of the surrounding woods calmed them into safety. The hoot of a far off owl called out across the distance and a wolf howl seemed to answer back. The rain had stopped, as did the thunder and lighting.   
  
“I’m sorry,” Sollux mumbled.   
  
Karkat looked up at him.   
  
“I’m sorry this keeps happening,” Sollux said. 

  
Karkat sighed, “It’s not your fault.”   
  
“Yeah, but if we hadn’t have come here-“   
  
“I  _ chose _ to come with you,” Karkat raised an eyebrow, “I could have said  _ no _ .”   
  
“Are you sure about that?” Sollux tried cracking a grin.   
  
They both laughed a bit awkwardly, shrugging off some embarrassment.    
  
Karkat glanced at him sidelong, “Hey but uh, I’m sorry too. For what I said back there in the museum. I didn’t mean it.”   
  
“No you did,” Sollux looked away, “And I think you might be right... I just... need some time.”   
  
“You’re  _ not _ crazy,” Karkat said. 

  
“What?” Sollux whipped his head around.   
  
“I called you crazy. I didn’t mean it,” Karkat shook his head.   
  
“It’s okay,” Sollux sat up.   
  
Another silence passed, this one noticeably more comfortable than the last. The car creaked as it reached the bottom of the mountain, the shack coming into view. 

 

The silence broke as Sollux stifled a laugh.   
  
“What’s so funny?” Karkat squinted at him.   
  
Sollux looked back with a sad sort of smile, “Imagine how much more fun you would have had if you had just gone on your date with Dave.”   
  
“Oh I don’t know if that would have been more  _ fun _ ,” Karkat smirked and nudged him with his shoulder, “I think this was a  _ pretty good _ substitute.”   
  
Sollux’s face turned red, giving a quick laugh before looking away.   
  
  
  
The trip to the car was just as scary as the trip out of the museum. A wave of warmth and safety washed over the two as they stepped back into the car.    
  
The first thing Sollux did was check the back seat.   
  
“What are you doing?” Karkat asked.   
  
“This is where all the jumpscares happen in movies,” Sollux explained, “I’m just making sure.”   
  
Karkat rolled his eyes, but was secretly grateful to feel even safer.   
  
The little car rolled down the winding road back down the mountain. Headlights gleamed off onto the edge of the forests, catching glimpses of the occasional bunny rabbit. It was nearly morning now. Light would shine from over the horizon in just a few hours, waking the town bright and early for another Tuesday. Cars would slow down at yellow traffic lights, kids would sled down hills, and dogs would yap at the mailman. But for now, it was quiet and still.    
  
Somewhere in Karkat’s mind, he liked to think that he and Sollux were the only two awake in the whole city, maybe even the whole world.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to update sooner this time! Thank you for reading!


	13. In Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In dreams I walk with you, in dreams I talk to you  
> In dreams you're mine, all of the time  
> We're together in dreams  
> But just before the dawn, I awake and find you gone  
> I can't help it if I cry  
> I remember that you said goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Again beta-read by the awesome cathugger6
> 
> This one’s pretty short and so is the next one but shits gonna hit the fan pretty soon.... i guess i never realized how many chapters this thing was gonna be but :/ oh well
> 
> also the title’s from Roy Orbison in the movie Blue Velvet by guess who: David Lynch   
> B-)

  
Tuesday   
  
_“There!” Karkat pointed at the night sky from inside Sollux’s car, “Did you see it that time?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Karkat leaned in closer and pointed again at some shifting lights in the sky, “Look right there!”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Somehow, Karkat had convinced him into going to watch the meteor shower. They took Sollux’s car up onto some back road that took them up to the deserted cliff. It was not only the perfect spot to watch the falling lights but also the best view of the entire valley. From up here they could see the freeways jumbling along with red and white headlights like a misshapen candy cane._ _  
_ _  
_ _“C’mon_ ** _,_ **_let’s sit on the hood, it’ll be easier to see,” Karkat said, stepping out of the car._ _  
_ _  
_ _Sollux followed him out and sat next to Karkat where he was perched on the hood of the car. A breeze swept across the hill, kicking up dust and giving the bushes a shiver. Karkat shuffled closer._ _  
_ _  
_ _It was just the two of them, miles away from the nearest house. From down in the town Sollux could see the streetlamps one by one flicker and turn off. The lights from within houses disappeared and soon, so too did the whole town become enveloped in darkness. The cliff hung above the pitch black void that stretched on for infinity._ _  
_ _  
_ _Sollux felt a hand on his. He turned to Karkat who was looking right back at him._ _  
_ _  
_ _“You don’t have to be scared. It’s just us out here,” Karkat said._ _  
_ __  
“I’m not scared,” Sollux heard himself say.

 _  
_ _Another gust of wind rustled through Sollux’s short cropped hair as Karkat looked up into his eyes. Then, with a distinct gentleness that he had never seen on him before, Karkat took off Sollux’s glasses for him and folded them carefully, setting them aside._ _  
_ _  
_ _The pine trees sitting behind the car slowly vanished along with the entirety of the cliff. The ground was whisked away into oblivion leaving behind more of the black abyss._ _  
_ _  
_ _Sollux could feel his heart about to burst through his chest and hoped Karkat couldn’t hear it. Karkat leaned into him and Sollux could feel his hot breath on his cheek. They sat open mouthed, tantalizingly close but never touching, like repelling magnets._ _  
_ _  
_ _It wasn’t long before the vacuum of space carried away the car as well and Sollux and Karkat were left stranded in the blank night sky. Like statues they were locked in a stare._ _  
_ _  
_ _For one brief second, right before they would surely fall into the vast emptiness that threatened to swallow them whole- Karkat’s lips brushed against Sollux’s._  
  
  
  
  
Sollux’s eyes shot open. He looked up at the ceiling fan, spinning on the highest setting, causing a slightly frightening rocking sound.   
  
It was just another dream.   
  
He had these dreams every once in a while and they always ended the same way, leaving Sollux with a heavy weight in his chest. A dull ache that he pointedly tried to ignore.   
  
They were just dreams. It wasn’t anything he could control. Besides, it was normal. When you’re this close to someone, you’re bound to think about that sort of thing from time to time. The dreams didn’t hurt anyone.   
  
Sollux reached for his glasses on the nightstand. He grabbed around for a few seconds, ghosting his hand over the alarm clock, tissue box, keys. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, squinting in the darkness. He held his hands out to walk towards the light switch, flicking it on. Sollux looked over the nightstand, as well as the dresser and desk, finding everything but his glasses.   
  
It wasn’t unusual to lose them. In fact it happened much more often than he’d like to admit. Sometimes he’d come home a little too drunk or otherwise intoxicated and he’d just sort of drop his glasses wherever.   
  
The only problem was that he had now thoroughly searched his entire room without finding them.   
  
Sollux stepped out of his room **,** walking down to the living room **,** checking every last place he would have left his glasses, absently realizing it would be a lot easier to look if he had the aid of the exact thing he’d lost. If they happened to be “missing” simply because he couldn’t see them, he was going to be pissed.   
  
It was still dark outside as Sollux overturned pillows and video game cases in search. Soon he decided to just go back to bed - they’d turn up eventually. Before he went back upstairs, Sollux headed to the kitchen, realizing how thirsty he was.

  
He shivered as he walked barefoot across the linoleum to the refrigerator. He grabbed a cup from the counter and stuck it under the ice dispenser. The machine made a low rumbling sound but didn’t drop any ice.   
  
Sollux was starting to get slightly annoyed and swung open the freezer door. He looked in the ice dispenser **,** which was completely overfilled with ice, causing a few to tumble down and shatter on the ground.   
  
He sighed and nudged the broken pieces of water underneath the fridge. He’d worry about it later.   
  
There must have been something blocking the dispenser. He shifted the ice cubes, throwing some in the sink to reach to the bottom. Finally, he felt what was blocking the pipe and pulled it out.  
  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sollux whispered to himself.  
  
There he stood illuminated by the light of the freezer in the middle of the kitchen, wondering which god to curse, holding his glasses in his hands.  
  
He looked back and forth from his slightly frozen glasses to the freezer, trying to wrap his head around something his brain just wouldn’t accept.   
  
Instead of making his brain work any harder than it had to at god-knows-when in the morning, he decided to put his glasses on and get to work. He had an idea.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sollux knocked on the door of the Peixes mansion, carrying a stack of flyers. He looked around at the perfectly trimmed lawn, watching the sprinklers spray the carnation bushes. Thankfully the sky was overcast, but the white brightness of the clouds still burned into the back of his skull.   
  
The door finally opened as Feferi peeked her head out and then, after seeing who it was, thrust the door open wide, “Sollux!”  
  
“Hey, FF,” Sollux handed her one of the flyers, “I was just posting these around town, I figured I should... I figured I should stop by here on the way.”  
  
Feferi took the flyer in her hands. The paper read “ _MISSING_ ” in all caps with a large picture of Aradia in the center of the page. At the bottom were descriptions and numbers to call.  
  
Feferi looked back up at Sollux. She didn’t know what to say and instead, grabbed ahold of him, hugging him tightly. He stood there unmoving, trying not to drop the papers in his hands.   
  
A moment passed with only the sounds of the sprinklers, the birds in the trees, and the crinkling of paper.  
  
Finally, she stepped back but kept holding onto his arms, “Sollux, you look terrible!”  
  
“Thanks,” He avoided her eyes, but cracked a smile. It was true, he hadn’t shaved or taken a shower in a couple days, and if the bags under his eyes had anything to say, he hadn’t slept too much either.  
  
“Come on inside, I just finished making breakfast,” Feferi grabbed his hand, leading him through the door before he could protest.  
  
Sollux shrugged off his giant coat looking up at the large ceiling of the foyer as Feferi grabbed his coat for him, hanging it up in the closet. He followed her into the kitchen where there were plates of hash browns, pancakes, and every other breakfast food laid out.  
  
“Jesus, who are you making all this food for?” Sollux said, watching her fix a plate for him.  
  
“Just for me,” She said, “I’ve been trying to learn how to cook but I keep getting all the proportions wrong, so there’s always too much. I’d feed the leftovers to Meenah or Mom but they’re always away from home.”  
  
She handed the plate to him, “I hope you like scrambled eggs, If I’d known you were coming by I would’ve made a couple different kinds.”  
  
“No way this is- _this is amazing_ ,” Sollux was definitely not tearing up at the sight of all this food. “Thanks.”  
  


 

  
  
  
Sollux sat in the living room, eating bacon and eggs, watching the morning cartoons, going through a few plates of food before he was finally full.   
  
“Wow! You ate really fast!” Feferi was cleaning up all the dishes in the other room, “When’s the last time you ate a proper meal?”   
  
He looked up at the chandelier for a moment, thinking, “Uh... I had like a really big pot of ramen a couple days ago. Are you sure you don’t need any help cleaning up?”

  
“Just finished!” Feferi wiped her hands on a towel and walked back to the couch, “And eating an entire pot of ramen by yourself is really not healthy.”  
  
“Well I’ve been a little busy,” He said.  
  
Feferi sat close enough to him that it would normally be way too close for comfort. However, with her, it was somehow okay. She took his hands in hers, looking up into his eyes.  
  
“I know. You’ve been very brave through all of this,” Feferi said. “I’ve been worried about you.”  
  
“How did you find out that she...?” Sollux trailed off.  
  
“Everybody’s been talking about it. Tavros told me first,” She sighed, “I figured she probably just ran off for a bit, you know, like she does. Nobody’s even heard from her since the party.”  
  
Sollux could see she was blinking back tears. They sat for a few moments laying there, tangled up in each other. Feferi absently rubbing small circles his arm and then, out of nowhere, she pulled the sleeve of his sweater up a bit. She peeled the cloth further and lightly gasped.  
  
“ _Sollux,_ _what did you do_?” Feferi asked softly.  
  
“What are you talking about...?” Sollux looked down at his forearm.  
  
There were a few nasty scratches trailing around his entire arm. They weren’t straight methodical lines, but jagged and overlapping. The skin around the marks was pink and irritated as if they were still slightly fresh.  
  
“Sollux, you didn’t...? _Please_ tell me you didn’t do this to yourself,” She said.  
  
Sollux was taken aback, “This is the first time I’ve seen these... I-I didn’t do this I swear!”  
  
“Did you get in a fight again?” Feferi looked deeply concerned.  
  
“No, I have no idea where these came from,” He was just staring down at his arm, wondering why he hadn’t noticed them earlier.  
  
Feferi hummed quietly to herself, examining the cuts, “Maybe you scratched yourself in your sleep. It’s not uncommon.”  
  
Sollux inspected his nails. They were bitten down quite a bit and sharp around the edges. There was even some residue of black nail polish from when Aradia had done their nails a few weeks ago.   
  
“Maybe you just got itchy in your sleep?” She yawned.  
  
Sollux wasn’t entirely convinced, but he nodded in agreement, hoping it might put her at ease.  
  
Feferi leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and drifting off into a light nap. He laid his head on top of hers and tried to close his eyes as well, thinking about where the scratches could have come from, how long it had been since he’d gotten a proper amount of sleep, and if he could remember where he’d left off in his dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw the whole sollux not wanting to confront his crush on kk isnt a whole repressed homophobia thing or anything its more of a i-shouldnt-have-a-crush-on-my-bff mixed with multiple layers of self loathing 
> 
> anyway! thanks 4 reading!


	14. Bad Ritual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let’s not pass on the steps  
> Let’s take the season very easy  
> Let’s take pills, salt water, let’s keep looking ahead
> 
> It’s a bad, bad ritual   
> But it calms me down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a big thank you to cathugger6 who beta-reads this stuff! 
> 
> Be warned! This chapter has eridan and he is a giant douche and he says a lot of slurs and other awful shit so watch out! 
> 
> also sorry this chapter is a lot longer than it usually is

Tuesday

  
  
Sollux dragged his feet as he walked back down the hill, carrying the last couple of flyers. He was starting to regret not using his car to get around town. Thankfully the sun was climbing back down behind the mountains once more so that it wasn’t glaring onto his glasses. 

 

The sidewalk was wet with a slush of melted snow; If he wasn’t careful, he would easily slip and so it was slow going, trudging back down.  
  
He passed by the richer neighborhoods, ones with flawless manicured lawns and picket white fences. Something about how pristine and perfect they all were made Sollux sick to his stomach. He could never articulate what it was, but it all felt like some facade for something more sinister. It was all just a mask for people with something to hide. From his experience, most people from this side of town were a bunch of wealthy weirdos.  
  
Of course, Feferi  was an exception. For the most part.   
  
He absent mindedly rubbed the part of his arm that had been cut. Feferi had wrapped it up in bandages before he left, despite his protests. He just couldn’t understand how he hadn’t noticed the scratches before. Of course, as of late, he’d slowly stopped trying to question everything around him. Who knows, maybe he really was just itchy in his sleep.    
  
Just as the road became less steep as he neared the base of the hill, a car that was passing by slowed and stopped next to him. It was one of those obnoxiously red cars and of course he spotted none other than Dave Strider at the wheel with Karkat sitting right next to him.   
  
The window rolled down and Karkat stuck his head out.  
  
“Hey man, do you need a ride or something?” He asked.   
  
Sollux kept walking, “I’m good.”  
  
“Are you sure?” The car kept up with Sollux’s pace.  
  
“Positive.”  
  
The window rolled up and Sollux could hear the two talking from inside for a second before the car stopped completely. The passenger door opened and Karkat hopped out, joining Sollux on the sidewalk as the car slowly drove off.

  
“Can I walk with you?”   
  
Sollux shrugged and kept walking.   
  
“What’s up with the flyers?” He asked.   
  
Sollux handed one over to him.    
  
“So you’ve been putting these up all day? You could’ve asked me to help, you know,” Karkat looked up at him.   
  
“You’ve been helping out way more than you’ve had to already. I didn’t want to bother you,” Sollux said.   
  
“You take me to search abandoned buildings but you draw the line at putting up flyers?” Karkat laughed.   
  


Sollux rubbed his sleeve, “Well I figured you’d probably want to spend time with your — uh with Dave…. How is he anyway? I mean, what happened to the whole movie date thing last night?”

 

“Oh, it’s actually kind of a funny story. Well I mean sort of. His sister got alcohol poisoning and he had to take her to the hospital,” Karkat was rambling. “So yeah on second thought, not really funny at all.”

 

“Jesus christ,” Sollux breathed out a chuckle.

 

“But um…. Speaking of Dave, I wanted to talk to you.”

 

Karkat seemed to be waiting for Sollux to say something, but continued on anyway, “He asked me a few days ago if I wanted to take a job on a movie with him.”

 

“That’s great, dude!” Sollux tried to be excited for him.

 

“It’s in L.A.”

 

Sollux felt the air being sucked out of him, like he’d just been punched in the gut, “Oh.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Karkat said. “The plane leaves on Friday.”

 

Sollux cleared his throat, ”Well, it’s what you’ve always wanted isn’t it? This is your chance to get out of here.”

 

Karkat shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, man. I know it’s supposed to be my dream and all, but it just doesn’t feel right. Not right now at least. I told him to go ahead without me — that’s what we were talking about in the car. I’ll leave if and when I feel ready.”

 

Sollux couldn’t help but mentally let out a sigh of relief. Of course, he wanted what was best for his best friend. He wanted him to find the “perfect guy” and work at his dream job and just be happy. But there was always that evil, selfish voice in the back of his head that was so afraid of losing him again. Maybe their friendship wouldn’t last forever, but at least they’d have longer than Friday.

  
  
  
  
  


They were out of the residential area by now and walking into the shopping district, where street lights changed from green to yellow to red without a single car on the road. Telephone wires buzzed like crickets. This side of town was a lot cleaner and empty as it was closer to the upper class area. Of course it wasn’t totally quiet, there was always something loud going on at the local bar and the sounds of glass clinking could be heard from the fancier restaurant across the street.    
  
However there was another, much closer sound that Sollux knew too well. They were being followed by a group of people. What made it worse was that they were all whispering, loud enough to hear, but not enough to make out what they were saying.    
  
“Don’t look now, but I think we’re being followed,” Sollux placed an arm around Karkat’s shoulders.   
  
Karkat of course, looked behind him and groaned, “It’s just Eridan and his gang of idiots.”   
  
“Even better.”    
  
Sollux could hear them stalking up behind them and made a sharp turn to the right, dragging Karkat into an alleyway. There were tin garbage cans and dumpsters lining the alleyway, overflowing with trash and giving off a terrible stench. They walked at the same speed, trying to make it seem like they didn’t notice anything, despite hearing the footsteps and jeering of the gang only yards behind them. If they could make it out the other side of the alleyway they’d only be a few blocks from Sollux’s apartment.

 

“Where ya goin, Sol?” Eridan’s nasally voice called out, “You  _ know _ you’re not allowed on this side of town.”   
  
Sollux kept walking, trying to keep himself together.   
  
“Hey,” Eridan caught up with Sollux grabbing his shoulder, “I’m talking to you, troglodyte!”   
  
Sollux shrugged off Eridan’s hand and wheeled around, “I see you’ve been making good use of your word calendar.”   
  
“Hey there he is!” He said grinning up at Sollux who was a whole head taller, “How long’s it been since you and my fists really had a chance to talk?”    
  
“Since you keep wussing out and taking out knives, I’d say it’s been awhile,” Sollux said flatly, “And I’d like to keep it that way.”   
  
“Hey Kar, how’s it goin’?” Eridan said.   
  
Karkat crossed his arms staring him down.

  
“You datin’ that blonde kid yet?”

  
“What?” Karkat spluttered and turned red, “What the fuck are you — ? No! I don’t even — “   
  
“So Sol, I heard you killed your little girlfriend, that’s rough buddy,” Eridan adjusted the giant glasses that sat on his crooked nose, “Did you manage to get one good screw outta her at least? After she died I mean, you wouldn’t want her to go through something that  _ traumatic _ while she’s conscious.”   
  
His goons started chuckling and grinning, circling the three.   
  
“Seriously, Eridan?” Karkat stepped closer, “We’re not in highschool anymore. Try acting like an adult and  _ shut the fuck up _ .”

  
“Woah, Kar,” He held his hands up, “Didn’t mean nothin’ by it. It was just a joke!”   
  
“Don’t play dumb — “   
  
“Come on, Kar,” Eridan wrapped an arm around him, “You know me! Remember when we were friends?”   
  
“We were never fucking friends,” Karkat pushed him off.   
  
“Of course we were! Especially back when you decided to stop hanging around this freak,” He gestured to Sollux who was clenching and unclenching his fists.   
  
“What the fuck do you want, ED?” Sollux said.

  
“Oh, I don’t know — maybe I wanna know why I saw you hanging out at Fef’s,” Eridan’s eyes turned cold.   
  
“What the hell are you even — ?” Karkat started.   
  
“Maybe you should ask her yourself instead of stalking me with your fake little posse,” Sollux said.   
  
“Wait you went to Feferi’s?” Karkat looked back at Sollux, confused.   
  
“Yeah — uh, long story — ”

  
“I thought I told you to stay away from Fef?” Eridan stepped closer, “I figured even a brainless fucktard like you could follow some simple instructions.”   
  
“She’s the one who invited me in,” Sollux said, “When’s the last time she’s even  _ wanted _ to see  _ you _ ?”   
  
“Fef and I have a very long and complicated relationship!” Eridan’s face went red.   
  
“Wait a minute — didn’t she threaten you with a restraining order the last time she found you on the tree outside her window?” Sollux smirked.   
  
“She didn’t know what she was talking about,” Eridan said, “It was late at night!”   
  
“ _ Yikes _ ! Might not wanna mention that to the judge,” Sollux said, grabbing Karkat’s back and leading him away, “Come on KK, let’s get outta their little kingdom.”   
  
“Just listen and listen good, Captor! If I see your sorry mug around the Peixes house ever again, I swear to god I will personally make sure you end up just like your  _ freak show brother! _ ” He screamed after them.   
  
Sollux stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around to see Eridan wearing a smug grin, knowing he’d finally chipped away at him.   
  
“ _ What the fuck did you just say? _ “   
  
“What even happened to him in the first place, huh?” Eridan mocked, “Did your shitbrained parents drop him on his head? Is that why he wears that dumb helmet?”   
  
“ _ Don’t you fucking _ _ — _ “   
  
“Hey, Sol, quick question — you ever get worried your genes are as fucked up as his and one day you’ll end up just as retarded — “   
  
He couldn’t say another word as Sollux took two steps, grabbed him by the collar, and shoved him against the brick wall. Eridan's goons looked like they wanted to interfere but were hanging back.    
  
“What did you call him?  _ What the fuck did you just call him! _ “ Sollux repeatedly banged Eridan's head against the wall.   
  
“Sollux it’s not worth it!” Karkat’s shouting was lost over the commotion.   
  
Eridan grinned wildly showing off his perfectly manicured teeth, annunciating every syllable, “ _ A spazzy fucking retard _ _ — _ ”   
  


He didn’t get to finish his insult as Sollux began wailing on him. It was as if something clicked in him and once he started, he didn’t know if he could stop. He was just going through the motions of something so ingrained within himself. The only thing he could hear was the blood ringing in his ears. He hit him square in the face every single time. He could feel Eridan’s glasses breaking under his fist, the glass crunching into his knuckles and tearing into Eridan’s skin, but he didn’t stop. The world became a blur of blood and heavy breathing. He couldn’t tell if the screaming was coming from Eridan or himself.   
  
From somewhere he could hear someone yelling, “ _ You’re gonna fucking kill him! _ ”

 

Before he knew what was happening, somebody was pulling him off of Eridan. It wasn’t one of his goons, but Karkat who dragged him away, restraining his arms to his sides. He didn’t realize he was fighting to get Karkat off of him until he accidentally jabbed Karkat in the chest with his elbow, causing him to stagger backwards, coughing hard.   
  
Sollux looked around and saw that all of the gang members had run off. He looked down at Eridan who was now clutching his face and letting out a strangled cry, tears escaping his bruised face through red fingers.   
  
Then he looked behind him where Karkat was leaned over, coughing and clutching his chest, fumbling to reach his back pocket. He pulled out his inhaler and took a few long breaths, trying to regain control over his lungs. 

 

“ _ Shit _ ! Karkat I — I’m so sorry.  _ Fuck _ .” Sollux reached out to try and steady him but Karkat stuck his trembling arm out, keeping him back. 

  
“I’m fine,” He coughed out, “It’s fine.”   
  
“KK, I — “    
  
_ “I’m fine, Sollux, _ ” Karkat struggled to breathe, let alone speak.   
  
Karkat spent a few moments just trying to keep himself from choking. When he finally stood up straight, still heaving, he kept glancing over at Sollux with fear in his eyes.

 

“KK, I’m really sorry,” Sollux could feel the guilt sitting heavy in his chest, “I — I didn’t mean to — ”

 

“How did you do that?”

 

Sollux squinted in confusion, “I don’t — what do you mean?”

 

Karkat was still terrified as he gestured to the trash cans and dumpsters in the alleyway. They had all been overturned and thrown around.

 

“What happened…?” Sollux furrowed his brow.

 

“You didn’t do that?” Karkat asked quietly, “When you were… All the cans were like rattling and moving around and — “ 

 

He went over to one of them. The bin had been crushed and bent, and now that Sollux was actually looking, there were several more that had been mangled the same way. 

 

“So… So what are you saying?” Sollux laughed out of fear, “You think  _ I  _ did this?!”

 

Karkat was dead serious, “It stopped happening when you stopped hitting him.”

 

“Those idiots probably just knocked em over when they were running away!” He said.

 

“Why the fuck do you think they were running, Sollux!?” There was anger in his eyes.

 

“So what? You think I have freaky psychic powers or whatever?”

 

“I don’t know what to think, okay!” Karkat shouted, “Let’s just get the fuck out of here before that asshole wakes up and calls the fucking cops on us.” 

 

Karkat nodded to the crumpled up body of Eridan, lying slumped up against the wall. He must have passed out in fear at the sight of all the blood that was now pouring out of his nose. Sollux swallowed hard and tried to keep his breathing steady. It had been so long since he’d gotten into a fight and he hated how much he enjoyed taking it out on that poor fuck. That didn’t mean he felt sorry for the Ampora, but he’d sworn to himself a long time ago he’d never let him under his skin again. 

 

But here he was.

  
  
  
  


It was already dark by the time they’d gotten to Sollux’s apartment building. They avoided looking at each other and neither of them said a word the whole time it took for them to walk there. Sollux was just so overcome by fear and guilt and confusion, he didn't know what to say. 

 

“I can drive you to Dave’s place if you want?” Sollux offered as they stood outside the front door to the building.

 

“That’s probably not a good idea,” Karkat sighed, “You’ve got blood all over your face and glasses. I don’t even know how you can see in those things. C’mon — “

 

Karkat dragged Sollux into the complex. Once they’d gotten to his apartment, Sollux made a beeline to the bathroom and locked the door. He filled the sink with water, scrubbing his face raw of the now dried blood. He hadn’t realized he was hyperventilating until he stopped and looked down at the rose tinted water. He stared at his shaking hands, scraped up at the knuckles from where he had hit Eridan repeatedly. The face that looked back at him in his reflection was foreign. Who was this person? He was sweaty and his eyes bulged from dark sockets. It felt like his heart was trying to leap out of his chest and his head was caving in on itself. 

 

A knock on the door snapped Sollux back into focus, “Sollux, you okay in there?”

 

He swallowed in his dry mouth, “Just a second!”

 

Sollux splashed the dirty water onto his face, drying himself off with the hand towel before unlocking the door. Karkat was standing awkwardly outside of the door. 

 

Karkat chose his next words very carefully, “Have you uh **—** taken your **—** “ He mimicked rattling around a bottle of pills in his hand.

 

Sollux didn’t answer, guiltily walking into the kitchen. Karkat tried to act normal as he sat on the couch. He pretended to not hear the sound the plastic clinking around from the kitchen as he flipped through one of the gaming magazines from the coffee table. When Sollux walked back he sat down on the opposite side of the couch, refusing to look in Karkat’s direction. There was a long and deafening silence. Karkat was too afraid to even breathe, for fear of breaking it. However, it was still way too quiet, even for the Captor’s house.

 

“Is Mituna here?” Karkat asked.

 

Sollux cleared his throat, “Him and his girlfriend are on some road trip for a gaming convention or something.”

 

Karkat nodded absently. The silence creeped its way back into the room. 

 

Sollux couldn’t stand the quiet any longer, “ _ Do I look different to you _ ?” He blurted out.

 

“Well you  _ do _ look like shit,” Karkat said.

 

“No I mean…. Do I seem different?” Fear was evident in his eyes.

 

“Besides the fact that you might have freaky witch powers — “

 

“Karkat please, I’m being serious,” His voice shook. “I’m  _ really _ fucking scared.”

 

With trembling hands he rolled up his sleeves, revealing the bandages that wrapped up his forearms. Karkat covered his mouth in shock, “ _ Sollux _ .”

 

“Don’t fucking — I’m not…. I didn’t do this, okay,” He removed the bandages, showing off the gruesome scratch marks, “I must’ve gotten them in my sleep and not noticed it but…. still I just don’t understand.”

 

Karkat furrowed his brow in a mix of confusion and anger and fear. Cautiously, he reached out his hand to hold his arm, tracing the cuts with his fingertips. Sollux tried to ignore the quickening pace of his heart and his shortened breath.

 

“Why do I have an awful fucking feeling that this has something to do with all the crazy shit that’s been going on.” He inspected the jagged marks, “These don’t even look human! Did something scratch you at the museum last night?”

 

“Not that I remember, no,” Sollux said, putting the bandages back in place, rolling down his sleeves again.

 

Karkat tensed up again, “And the uh — psychic powers?”

 

“I’m telling you that wasn’t me. It could’ve been a fucking earthquake or something.”

 

“Bull fucking shit, dude. It was coming from you, I swear. I — I don’t know  _ how _ you did it but it was definitely you.” Karkat said.

 

Karkat looked around the room, searching for something. He plucked up an empty soda can from the floor near the television set, placing it down in front of Sollux on the coffee table, “Here. Try to crush this thing or something with your mind.”

 

“KK, this is fucking stupid — “

 

“Just  _ try _ it!”

 

After rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Sollux sucked in a deep breath. He swiped his tongue over his lips and bit down, trying to concentrate on the can. He tried to imagine crumpling it down, flattening it onto the table, but as he tried harder, it only worsened his headache. It felt like someone was stabbing his brain and he let out a breath of air, falling back onto the couch.

 

Karkat picked up the unharmed can, looking it over for dents or cracks, “Well that didn’t work.”

 

“No fucking kidding,  _ because I don’t have fucking telekinesis and this whole goddamn thing was stupid _ .”

 

“It was worth a shot!”

  
  
  
  
  


Karkat rolled out the green sleeping bag onto the floor next to the bed, stealing a few of Sollux’s black and white checkered pillows and setting them down. He had changed into some of Sollux’s old pajamas which happened to be a Talking Heads t-shirt several sizes too small and a pair of loose red and blue gingham sweatpants. Karkat silently cursed Sollux’s freakishly tall and lanky body. It was impossible to fit into any of his clothes.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to just sleep in Tuna’s room? Or the couch? For fuck sakes you can even sleep in my bed if you want - I’ll sleep on the floor,” Sollux kept bugging him. 

 

“Jesus christ, dude, I’m not a fucking flower. I’ve slept on the floor before. I’m fine,” Karkat was rough-housing with the pillows a little, in an attempt to fluff them up, “Besides it’s probably for the best that I stay in the same room as you.”

 

“What? Why?” 

 

He shrugged his shoulders, “I’d just feel safer in here.”

 

Sollux ignored the lump in his throat and tried to laugh, “I literally almost broke someone’s nose today.”

 

“Yeah. That’s how I know I can trust you,” Karkat smirked and shuffled to get inside the sleeping bag. 

 

Sollux knew he was only joking around, but his words still struck a chord with him. A terribly familiar feeling swelled in his chest. He got up from where he sat on his bed, stepping carefully over Karkat, and flipped off the light. He jumped back onto his bed, burrowing himself under the covers. For a moment it was deathly quiet. Sollux could feel his chest rising and falling, his breathing becoming steadier and shallower. In an instant he felt how tired he was. Even though he had taken a nap earlier that day, he could feel his exhaustion coming off of him in waves. He almost didn’t hear the soft chuckle from the floor.

 

“Sollux?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“This makes me feel like we’re in highschool again. Like we’re having a sleepover or something,” Karkat whispered. Sollux could almost hear the grin in his words.

 

Sollux couldn’t think of anything other to say than, “Yeah.”  But his voice kept bouncing around in his head, playing on loop. He didn’t realize how calming it was until his eyes were fluttering close. 

 

“Sollux, you awake?”

 

He yawned, “Hm… yeah?”

 

“G’night”

 

“Night, KK”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i have to admit - part of the reason sollux fucks eridan up so bad is cuz i was also fed up with his shit and i wanted to take it out on him.... but also fuck that guy sooo...


	15. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And if a double-decker bus  
> Crashes into us  
> To die by your side  
> Is such a heavenly way to die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! It has been a very long time since the last chapter sorry! I have the last few chapters planned out (3 maybe 4?) but I’ve just been kinda really just making sure it’ll all like make sense and there won’t be too many plot holes in the end. Anyway, hope ya’ll like it.

_ The snow was coming down harder now, blanketing the floor of the woods until everything seemed to be smothered in white curtains. It was like looking at an overexposed photo taken from an ancient camera. From somewhere beyond the trees, a dark being shifted, its bright eyes glinting in the haze. As it looked up, its black tendrils crept across the ground, squirming through the fluffy light snow and worming its way closer and closer until - _

 

Karkat snapped awake. He’d just had that terrifying falling sensation that jolted him out of his sleep. As much as the dream had put him at unease, he wasn’t scared. The rise and fall of his chest as he regulated his breathing lulled him back into a deep calm.    
  


That was until he heard the first thump.   
  
And the several following thumps, coming from downstairs.    
  
They were dull, hollow sounding - not as threatening as they were eery and they seemed to have a specific beat.   
  
_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _   
  
He figured it might just be someone from another apartment next door - god knows the walls were paper thin - but it might just be better to go check anyways. Karkat zipped himself out of the sleeping bag, rising to his feet, taking a moment to glance over to where Sollux was sleeping.   
  
But the problem with that was simply that, he wasn’t there. There was no trace of the lanky asshole anywhere. That just about solved the mystery right there. He was probably just making weird noises in the bathroom downstairs.

 

Something in Karkat caused him to reach out and smooth the folds over the bed, in the spot he’d been sleeping in. The bed was cold. How long had he been gone?   
  
He set out downstairs, opening the door and tip toeing out. He crept down, careful of any creaks in the floorboards, but what he saw from the bottom of the steps made him reach out for the railing as he almost tripped on his own feet.

  
It was as if someone had switched off the gravity meter in the room. There were magazines, DVDs, books, even a glass cup, hung in the air as if they were suspended by strings. Then there was the thumping noise again. 

 

Sollux was standing in front of one of the windows, banging his head on the glass.     
  
After flipping the light switch, Karkat tried to pull a copy of The Matrix from the air, but as his fingers brushed the front cover, something shocked him and he quickly reeled his hand back, clutching it close to his chest. It was like someone had zapped him with static electricity. He brushed past the floating objects, sliding up next to Sollux, who was still knocking his head against the window.    
  
“Hey, buddy,” Karkat said, hesitantly, “You might want to cut that out before you-“   
  
He looked closer when Sollux brought his face away from the glass. His eyes were dark and glazed over  — he was sleep walking. The mark he kept hitting his head on was now cracked and his forehead was leaking a tiny dribble of blood down the right side of his face. It wasn’t so much blood to be a huge concern, but it was enough that he’d probably hate himself in the morning.   
  
“Jesus Christ, dude, you gotta stop,” Karkat pulled on his shoulder, turning him around.    
  
In that moment, everything hovering in the air vibrated slightly. The hair on Sollux’s head rippled back and stood on end before his eyes shot open. The lightbulb in the room flickered and exploded into a puff of smoke and he fell backwards. As he hit the floor, so did all the things that hung in the air, clattering to the ground. The glass cup shattered across the wooden floor into a million tiny pieces. If Karkat wasn’t awake before, he certainly was now.   
  
He kneeled down next to Sollux, shaking him awake, “C’mon man, you gotta wake up.”   
  
Sollux’s eyes fluttered open, like he’d just woken up from a pleasant dream and not some cult ritual, “Hm? What are you — uh.” He looked around, “Why are we —?”   
  
“You were sleepwalking. Is that normal for you? Also, is levitating a bunch of random crap and blair witching in the corner normal? You don’t happen to feel any mild brain damage, do you?”   
  
“Wha —?”   
  
Karkat stood up, pacing the room, making sure to step over the piles of clutter and glass shards. Whatever expletives he was mumbling now to himself was too low to hear from where Sollux was sitting. 

 

Sollux put a hand up to his head, feeling a warm wetness and brought his hand back down to find blood. He was glad he was still sitting down because all of a sudden he felt quite dizzy and lightheaded.   
  
“KK, what... what did I do?”   
  
Karkat stopped in his tracks, finally turning to face him, “Y-you... this whole room was floating - all the books and shit. You were hitting your head...” He was trying to understand it himself as he came to sit next to him.   
  
Karkat could see the disbelief in his eyes, “I know you don’t remember but you have to trust me-“   
  
“I want to believe you.”   
  
“Don’t try to argue - I ... wait, you do?”   
  
“Yeah well, I guess I’ve had some time to think about it. In the past week or so we’ve encountered way weirder shit than telekinesis and I think I’ve reached that point where I know I no longer know anything about anything.” Sollux quickly added, “ _ And also _ I may have been hearing a bunch of voices whispering to me about untapped powers or some shit... But y’know, either one.”   
  
“What.”   
  
_ “I think I might be freaking out dude,” _ His voice was low and squeaky.

  
Karkat just sat and stared at him for a long moment, trying to find some sense of humour in Sollux’s eyes. He had to be joking. When Sollux just kept on shaking in front of him with a trail of blood edging dangerously close into his eye, he realized it wasn’t a joke. God this all was so fucked up. He ran a hand through his shaggy bedhead, breathing out a sigh.

 

“What happened in your nightmare? Or uh… what have the uh “voices” been telling you?”

 

“I… I don’t wanna talk about it,” He brushed his arms, still wrapped in bandages. He looked like he was about to cry.

 

He didn’t really know what compelled him to do it, but Karkat reached out to grab his trembling hand, “Hey, you’re gonna be okay.”

 

Karkat helped him to his feet, taking him into the bathroom. He sat him down on the toilet seat while he used a washcloth to wipe the blood from Sollux’s face. He wasn’t sure if it was the harsh light or the warm water collecting on his face, but Sollux kept looking down and away from him like he was guilty of something. Of what, Karkat didn’t really know and he figured prodding him right now at god knows how early in the morning would only make it worse. So he finished drying off his face and helped him up the steps back to his room. 

 

When Karkat was about to get back into his sleeping bag, Sollux cleared his throat from where he sat in his bed, “Um… do you remember that one time we watched that horror movie during a sleepover at your house.”

 

He thought for a second,“The Poltergeist?”

 

“Yeah, well, do you remember how scared you got and you practically begged me to sleep next to you?” 

 

“ _ Hey I was not _ -“

 

“I was just saying,” Sollux rubbed his neck, “Could you-? I mean if you’re okay with it of course…” He trailed off after realizing what he was trying to ask, shaking his head, “Uh I mean… just forget it nevermind, sorry.”

 

Karkat blinked as a thought flashed through his mind. Then, without another moment’s hesitation, he lifted the covers of Sollux’s bed, “Move over.”

 

Sollux’s breath hitched as he felt his throat close up. He couldn’t believe how stupid he could have been. What was he thinking? There was absolutely no way he could fall asleep now.

 

Karkat laid beside him under the covers with his back to him, “G’night.”

 

Sollux wondered if Karkat could feel the stare burning into his shoulders and decided to turn on his side, away from him, “Night.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Karkat woke up to the sun peeking through the curtains and found himself tangled up in Sollux’s boney limbs. They had their arms wrapped around each other and he realized he had been drooling onto Sollux’s chest, creating a damp spot in his shirt. In those quiet moments after he’d woken up, he didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to have to get up and pretend like nothing happened. He wanted to stay there and curl up inside Sollux’s arms, feel the rise and fall of his chest under his head. He wanted to stay in the cloudy aroma of spearmint and honey that seemed to follow him around and run his fingers through his hair and hold onto him and -

 

Okay. That was enough. He shouldn’t think like that. Especially not about his best friend. Karkat pulled himself out of the embrace, careful not to wake up said friend. 

 

He glanced over at the clock. It was already a little after nine and he had work in about an hour. He knew he could walk to there from here with no problem but he left a note on the fridge anyway, saying where he’d gone and telling Sollux to meet him there later.

 

He felt a little guilty leaving him there alone, especially with how unstable he’d become. But it was only going to be a little while. What was the worst thing that could happen? 

  
  
  
  
  


The video store was empty the entire day. There never were a lot of customers that came in the first place but today was just abnormally deserted. Which made it all the more alarming when the jingle of the bell rang above the entrance door. Karkat jumped in his swivel chair behind the counter where he had been dozing off.  Of course, it was Dave. 

 

“Yo whaddup, guess who just quit.”

 

“Don’t you need to give a two weeks notice before you do that?” Karkat said, wiping the drool off of the corner of his mouth.

 

Dave just shrugged his shoulders, “Oh no, what are they gonna do, fire me?”

  
  


They walked to the nearest diner, a place called Bigfoot Burger that advertised the largest sandwich in the county as well as fishing tackle and ammunitions. It was humid and stuffy in the restaurant so they took their food in paper bags and sat out in the cold dry air. The sun beamed down on them but it had no effect on the freezing weather. Karkat kept rubbing his hands together and blowing air into them as they ate their lunch. 

 

Just as Karkat was finishing his last bite, Dave asked, “So you’re sure you don’t want to come with me? I still have an extra plane ticket.”

 

Karkat swallowed and sighed, “You know I can’t.”

 

“Just thought I should ask one more time,” Dave shrugged, “And for the record: it’s not that you  _ can’t _ go, you just don’t want to.”

 

“Seriously? Of course I wanna fuckin’ go. But you know I’ve gotta stay here, man,” He said.

 

Dave simply laughed and shook his head, “Right.”

 

“What?”

 

Dave just kept shaking his head.

 

“What are you trying to say?”

 

“Nevermind.” Dave folded his napkin into the bag.

 

“You think there’s something keeping me here?” 

 

“Uh- yeah I do.” Dave rolled his eyes.

 

“Would you like to share it with the class then?” 

 

For once, Karkat could spot his eyes, glaring from behind his shades, “Listen, we both know you’d never go anywhere without Sollux.”

 

He was taken aback by that. Karkat scoffed, “What makes you think that?”

 

“You’re really gonna make me say it?” Was that hurt behind his sunglasses? “ _ You’re in love with him, dude _ . You always have been.”

 

Karkat felt like some giant curtain had been thrown aside. A lump formed in his throat and refused him to speak. 

 

“Listen, it’s okay,” Dave took off his glasses, wiping them on his coat, “I get it.”

 

“I don’t… I’m not-“

 

Dave cut him off, “Whatever. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to talk about it. Just… Stop lying to yourself.”

 

Dave crumpled his trash into a ball, throwing it into his paper bag. He rolled up the bag and sat up from the bench, “I’ll see you around, okay? I’ve gotta finish packing for Friday.”

 

And with that Dave walked off down the street. Karkat wished he’d gotten up and followed him. He wished he’d done anything besides staying sat down on the bench, feeling like he was being held down by weights, unable to stand or move or do anything.

  
  
  


By the time he’d walked back to the store, the sun had already started setting. Winter was here now and the night came creeping onto the sky sooner than expected. He spent the rest of his shift staring out at the blood orange sky, reflecting onto all the shop windows, making the world look like it was set under some sort of dreamlike filter. 

 

Just as he was locking up the store, Sollux’s car pulled up to the curb. When he stepped out of the driver’s seat, he just stood on the pavement looking over at Karkat, not saying a word. 

 

It was only then that Karkat took a real good look at him. His hair was in a disarray, face unshaved and stubbly. Behind his glasses, his eyes were sunken and dark, looking like he hadn’t slept in years - he probably hadn’t. Not properly anyway. The bandage sloppily taped to his forehead sent a pang to his chest. Even though he’d seen him every single day of every month of every year, it was like he was really seeing him for the first time. So what was this strange feeling that crept into him?

 

He hopped into the car without a word. Sollux only looked at him a little strangely, but sat back into his seat and started the car. It was a quiet drive, passing by the orange, red, and yellow leaves that littered the floor beneath the trees that lined the street. It wasn’t even until Karkat realized Sollux’s house was in the entire other direction did he think to ask where they were going.

 

“Aradia’s,” Sollux cleared his throat.

 

He didn’t even ask why. Karkat just stared plainly out the window, watching the scenery pass by. Once they’d pulled up to the tiny shack, Karkat realized how eery it felt now. Despite the crows squawking overhead and the leaves rustling through the forest, it was entirely too quiet. 

 

The house sagged under dry leaves overflowing on top of the roof, matching the floor of the woods. Karkat looked up to Sollux, motioning for him to go first. He followed him up the creaking steps and into the abandoned cottage. One of the windows had been broken through and a gust of wind swirled through the cabin, rattling the walls and lifting the few leaves that had gotten into the room. Polaroids of Aradia and Sollux and dead animals fluttered against the wall. Sollux moved to the small bookcase. He was looking for something. 

 

He took out one of the heavier books, flipping through the pages, “Elizabeth Knapp… Roland Doe…  Anneliese Michel.”

 

Karkat stepped closer, trying to look over his shoulder, “Who?”

 

“Telekinesis. Demonic possession. Exorcisms. It’s all here.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Sollux explained, “I’m sleepwalking at night. Moving things with my mind. I’ve been… hearing voices. Karkat, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I can’t ignore this. I’m not saying demons exist but… At least maybe I can learn more… See what other people have done. There has to be some sort of explanation.”

 

Karkat knelt down on the floor next to him, taking out several more books from the shelf. They spent the evening reading through practically every book in Aradia’s library. There were listings of notable demons, cases of possessions, and then How To guides on sacrifices and seances. They only stopped once it had gotten too dark to see, carrying stacks of books outside to the car. 

 

After slamming the trunk full of books shut and sliding into the front seat, Sollux looked over to where Karkat sat beside him, “Is everything okay?”

 

He gave a dry laugh.

 

“You might be possessed and you’re asking if  _ I’m  _ okay.”

 

“Sorry, you’re just… really quiet today. I can’t tell if something’s wrong or not.”

 

“It’s uh,” Karkat thought about the conversation he had with Dave earlier, shaking his head “It’s nothing.”

 

Sollux nodded in assurance, starting the car and driving away. It was only a couple minutes to Karkat’s house and the front porch light flickered on just as the car pulled up to the curb. Karkat hesitated before opening the door, looking back and forth between his house and Sollux, “You should stay. With me. I mean at least for the night, y’know.”

 

Sollux looked a little caught off guard but nodded again, stepping out of the car as well. He took a couple of the heavy books with him as Karkat unlocked his front door. Sollux stepped inside after him and was immersed in the scent of pumpkin and vanilla. For the first time in a long time he felt… warm? He shook off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack.

 

Karkat headed down the hallway, “I gotta change real quick. I’ll be right back-“

 

Sollux stood in the entryway for a couple moments, not really sure what to do. He’d been here a few times before but that had to be back when Kankri still lived here. Karkat had always locked them inside his room the minute they stepped through the front door in order to escape another one of his brother’s lengthy lectures. 

 

What the place lacked in space it made up in coziness. Sollux shifted a couple magazines off the couch, sitting awkwardly alone in the living room. That’s when he spotted the cat, sitting on a plush chair on the opposite side of the room. As soon as he sat down, it looked over at him, sniffed the air, and then jumped over to his side of the couch. Sollux sat as still as he could and held his breath as the cat gently plopped itself right on his lap. He wasn’t exactly a cat person. He wasn’t really an animal person. 

 

“I can’t believe he likes  _ you,  _ of all people.” Karkat came back into the living room, wearing an extremely comfy looking sweater and sweatpants, “He barely even likes me. Usually he just bites strangers, so this is new.”

 

Just as Sollux tried to carefully pet his head, the cat bit his wrist. He yelped and sprung back his hand as the cat jumped off, trodding away triumphantly.

 

“Atta boy,” Karkat laughed, “Anyway, my room’s clean now.” Karkat motioned for Sollux to follow him as they made their way to his room. 

 

Every inch of the walls was covered floor to ceiling in movie posters and pictures of grungy looking bands. It was such a change of decor from the living room, Sollux could barely believe the room was even connected to the rest of the house. 

 

Sollux was admiring a photo of a much smaller Karkat holding up a fish about half his size when he heard him click a tape into place in its cassette deck. There was a moment of low static before the first song came on. Everybody Wants To Rule the World. Where did Karkat get this mixtape from anyway?

 

As if reading his thoughts, Karkat said, “Dave made this. It’s a little corny but whatever. I guess I’m pretty corny too.”

 

Karkat moved and flopped onto his bed. Sollux followed suit, staying close to the far edge, “So… did you get to see him at all today? I mean he’s leaving in a couple days isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, we had lunch again.”

 

Sollux nodded to himself, “How’s it gonna work out between you two? I mean with him being on the other side of the country and all?” 

 

“Well I think… He doesn’t really think it’d work out in the first place.”

 

“What? But I thought he… Why not?” 

 

Karkat sighed to himself, “I don’t know I guess… There’s a lot of reasons.”

 

“Like what?” 

 

Sollux looked genuinely confused. And to speak truthfully he was. He’d always thought they were perfect for each other. That’s what always made him hate himself a little more. Dave was perfect for Karkat. When you know someone for nearly half your life you can tell what really makes them happy, and he knew that one of those things for Karkat, was Dave. So why would he let him go? 

 

“Well for one thing… I guess he thinks…” Karkat broke off, shaking his head, “Ah- nevermind.”

 

“What is it? You can tell me.”

 

Karkat could feel his heart racing. He shouldn’t have said anything. He shook his head again, “No, no it was stupid. It was nothing. Just forget about it.”

 

And then Sollux was hugging him. It was a little awkward because of the angle that Sollux was sitting next to him at. But all the same, it brought a wave of warmth and security over him. He pulled back way too soon and said, “I’m sorry… that it didn’t work out. If it helps, I really thought you guys would’ve been good together. You really liked him, huh?”

 

This was such a bad idea, “He reminded me of you.”

 

Sollux couldn’t have heard him right, “H-huh?”

 

“I liked him… because he reminded me of you.”

 

Sollux let out a shaky breath, trying to laugh. This had to be a joke right? It wasn’t very funny, “C’mon you don’t mean that-“

 

“The reason why I could never go with him… I wouldn’t go without you,” Karkat couldn’t believe the words that were tumbling out of his mouth, “Sollux?”

 

“Uh-huh?” Why was Karkat shifting closer? 

 

Their knees brushed up against each other and it sent sparks of energy right into his chest. It felt as if all the air in the room had been sucked out of it. It was deathly silent. Sollux was painfully aware of all the things he wanted to say right now. He knew at least a third of his thoughts would end their friendship entirely. His brain was like a river teeming “I’m in love with you”s and “I just want to hold your hand”s and Sollux was the dam, barely able to keep his mouth shut. He swallowed thickly, “Karkat I-“

 

But Karkat was even closer now. He could feel his soft breathing on his face, only inches apart. His eyes were wide and staring straight at him. As he sat there, feeling helpless, all the tiny voices inside of him died away. All except one, hazily wondering when Karkat started wearing cologne. 

 

How many times had he imagined this moment in his head? How could he be sure this wasn’t another one of his daydreams? Was any of this even real? As Karkat was closing his eyes and tilting his head, Sollux couldn’t help feel like a useless statue, paralyzed. He couldn’t move if he tried. 

 

That was, until a strange noise from outside caused them both to jump apart from each other. 

 

Karkat cursed as he hit his head on the wall behind him. He sat up and walked to the window, peering out, “You heard that, right?”

 

Sollux nodded, forgetting how to speak. He could feel his face burning up.

 

“I’m gonna go check to see what that was, okay?” Karkat grabbed a flashlight from the drawer of his nightstand and headed out of the room. 

 

Sollux followed him down the hall and out the front door onto the porch. Karkat flashed the light all around, but all that was there was the driveway, the road, and the forest that surrounded it all. It was ironic for him to bother looking at all as he was repeating over and over to himself that he didn’t want to find anything staring back at him through the trees.

 

He flicked the light off and went back inside, “Must’ve been a raccoon.” Karkat went and slumped on the couch, letting a wave of relief wash over him. 

 

He turned on the shitty little TV that sat in the living room, flipping to the news. You’d think that a missing person in a tiny town would be all over headlines. The only mention of Aradia was in an inch and a half clipping in the newspapers. She was barely a paragraph.

 

At some point, Sollux must have shifted next to him because he was using his rather tall and uncomfortable shoulder as a pillow. He fought to keep his eyes open but the lights flashing across his eyes hypnotized him to sleep and he found himself inside another dark and empty dream, like he was buried underwater. 

  
  
  


He only woke up when a rather high pitched tone snapped him out of his trance. He scrambled for the remote to lower the volume of the television but the screen was all static and white noise. He flicked the power button off and with the newfound quiet, he heard another strange noise coming from outside. 

 

“Sollux, did you hear that?” He whispered.

 

But he was talking to no one. Sollux wasn’t sitting on the couch. The lights flickered a little and he had to hold his breath. How long had he been alone?

 

He checked the bedroom, the bathroom, Kankri’s room, and even his dad’s room. In the end, all he found was the cat curled up and purring on his pillow.

 

He had just finished checking the laundry room when he heard the front porch creak like someone had just shuffled up the steps. It could be Sollux. It could also be a serial killer who had just murdered his best friend and was now going to try to kill him. He thought it best to grab one of the sharper kitchen knives as he approached the door. 

 

“Sollux? Is that you?”

 

No answer.

 

Holy shit, he was not ready to die. 

 

He gripped the knife tighter in his hand, knuckles turning white, “Who is it? Answer me!”

 

But as Karkat pressed his ear up against the door, he could hear a faint voice whispering. It sounded like it was repeating itself over and over, but it was too hard to pick out the exact words. Just as he realized what the voice was saying he threw the door open, light shining down on Sollux who was curled up on the porch steps, facing away from him. From where he was standing, Karkat could see that his feet were covered in dirt like he’d walked barefoot through the forest. Wait… had he walked barefoot through the forest? 

 

“Where did you go?” His voice sounded a lot smaller than he’d like.

 

Sollux finally turned his head to look at him but his eyes… they weren’t his.

 

“Something’s wrong with Aradia.”

  
  
  
  


Karkat was practically dragging Sollux behind him, running, past the trees along a path he’d only walked a few times before. It was enough trying to run without his lungs exploding. This whole thing was stupid. He’d left his inhaler at home and now he was running through the forest at night with no shoes on. Not one of his best ideas. But he could tell something wasn’t right. 

 

Just as they were coming up over a hill, he realized his suspicions were right. A haze of smoke was swirling into the sky and the surrounding trees were illuminated by a violent orange light. Fire was roaring out of every inch of Aradia’s tiny cabin. Karkat dropped Sollux’s hand, standing paralyzed on shaky legs. 

 

He watched as Sollux kept walking closer and closer to the fire, in a trance. “She’s in there,” He kept repeating to himself, stepping up onto the porch as if nothing was wrong; as if the fire that crept by his feet had no power over him. 

 

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Karkat shouted.

 

He didn’t answer. It was as if he was lost in space somewhere. Karkat couldn’t even see him as he walked into the collapsing building. He ran forward and tried to yell through the door.

 

“Get back here, you idiot!” Karkat screamed and fell into a cough, sputtering the last few words. The smoke was unbearable on his lungs. It was like he’d ran a triathlon and was then handed a pack of cigarettes as a refreshment. 

 

But it had been almost a minute now since he’d seen Sollux and he knew there was no way he was coming back out on his own. Karkat pulled his sweater up over his nose, taking in staggered breaths of air. He closed his eyes and ran up the burning steps, rushing through the doorway. 

 

The inside of the living room looked like an entirely different planet. Through his tears and the smoke clouding his eyes, all he could see was red. He could barely even process the heat. It was as if someone had thrown him into an oven and locked the door. The once quaint and unassuming cottage had become a burning hellscape. There were obsidian black vinyls melting into the floorboards. The couch had become a crisp skeleton of what it once was.  All the little skulls and fossils adorning the walls had fallen to the ground and Karkat had to watch his step as the white bones littered the floor like some sort of graveyard garage sale. It wasn’t until he’d gotten inside did he realize the record spinning, playing a muffled and warbled version what seemed like a normally very pretty folk tune. He caught only a few phrases, “ _ -wander away trailing palm leaves behind me, so you don't even know that I've been there-  _ “, before the sound distorted and twisted back into the ambiance of fire crackling and hissing. 

 

He whipped around the cabin and found Sollux in the bedroom. He was faced away from him, carrying something in his hands. Karkat tried to grab his arm but as soon as he did he felt like he was grabbing onto red hot coals. A scream tore through him and he could only hear a faint ringing in his ears. The beams above them were creaking and groaning along with him and it felt like at any second they would fall and lock them inside. He tried to ignore his burning hand as he held tightly to the back of Sollux’s shirt and pulled him alongside. He burst through the entryway with Sollux still in tow, practically throwing himself onto the dry grass in front of the porch. 

 

A thundering crash fell down behind them, moments after Sollux stepped down from the porch. Karkat watched through half lidded eyes at the house curling in on itself like a hurt puppy. Embers and debris swirled through the air in an elaborate and beautiful and terrifying display. But Karkat wasn’t watching, only coughing out black dust and crumpling up on the warm and gentle ground. 

 

The last thing he saw before he passed out was the silhouette of Sollux looking up at the flaming building and dropping to his knees, burying his head in his hands.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the jealousy and tension stuff - it’s just stuff that needed to happen I guess oof.


End file.
